Stockchase Opinions

Daniel Lloyd Manulife Financial MFC-T COMMENT Nov 24, 2017

Has a very strong Asian franchise, which is very beneficial, as it is the high growth area of the world. The issue he would have is their earnings sensitivity to the interest rate curve, which continues to flatten.

$26.900

Stock price when the opinion was issued

insurance
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BUY
For dividends in an RRSP.

A lifeco, but also offers investment products. Solid, dependable. 

BUY

Likes it. Globally diversified. Slightly better dividend than SLF right now, though he likes both names. Also slightly cheaper than SLF, so that's why MFC is in his portfolio.

BUY ON WEAKNESS

Great performance in 2024 with good dividend yield. Does not own shares. Good growth prospects ahead. Would recommend buying on weakness. 

BUY ON WEAKNESS

Good growth in Asia. Asset management becoming a more important part of the business for all lifecos. Probably trading at higher end of historical levels. More room to go. Solid holding as long as it continues to execute. Yield is relatively attractive, increases over time.

PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick Feb 16/24, Up 36%)

A year it ago, it traded at a dirt cheap 6-7x PE. Many thought it was left for dead with bad insurance contracts. In Dec. 2023, they sold a lot of those contracts at a decent price. That's when he entered this. But he recently sold this to buy TD (which has more upside).

HOLD
Why stuck around $44?

Markets are tough and can be counter-intuitive. Great beat, and the sector is sheltered from tariffs. Free of negative surprises, unlike SLF. Street models 12.5% EPS growth, trading at 9.34x -- cheaper and more compelling than banks.

The answer could be that the good news was already baked into the stock. He'd take it as a really good sign that it's actually up in the past week of a really tough market. More to go, but doesn't go in a straight line. He's long this one.

BUY

Really likes. Attractive valuation. Down ~11% from highs last November. Pretty nice dividend of 4.3%. Holding above the 200-day MA, which is moving upwards. Insurance space gives you decent growth with protectiveness of the dividend.

PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick Nov 29/24, Up 0%)

(Note the short timeframe.)  Caught up in sentiment against the financial sector. In the group, insurance companies have actually held up fairly well (haven't gone down as much as everything else). 

PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick May 15/24, Up 29%)

Nice Q4 beat. Provides some shelter from tariffs. Still trades at slight discount of 9x, growing ~12%. Nice dividend. Competitor SLF is the one that's had 2 negative surprises in a year. 

Still a buy, but be aware that investors are flocking to this area, so it could eventually drop. Great compounder from here for the next 5 years.

SELL

Wonderful company. He got stopped out once tariffs hit. Doesn't think any less of the business. Fundamentally in the right spot. Trading below the 200-day MA, and not many good things happen below that technical line in the sand. Exposure to China has probably hurt in the near term.