11 Best Affordable Dividend Stocks to Buy Now

4. Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE:MFC)

Forward P/E as of October 2: 9.88

Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE:MFC) is a Canadian multinational insurance company that provides various related services and products to its consumers. An insurance company is generally a big winner in an environment of rising interest rates. The reason is that they usually invest a large part of their money in bonds and other fixed-income instruments. When rates go up, the yields on new bonds become attractive, and this leads to an increase in the investment income of the company and the general profitability of dividend-paying insurers.

Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE:MFC) is a good pick for investors who want the best of both worlds – the reliability of the insurance business and the advantage of global diversification. The company, which is present in Canada, the US, and Asia, is therefore able to maintain steady profits no matter the pace of the economic cycle.

Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE:MFC) is set to make great strides in Asia since the region is an untapped insurance market, but the demand is growing quite rapidly. Not only that, this growth potential acts as a stabilizer for the American market, turning dividends and capital gain into the stay of the long-term game.

The latest updates show clearly this power. Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE:MFC) posted $1.9 billion in core earnings, which marked a 14% increase from the previous year. The company made a profit of $1.7 billion, and the new business value increased by 18%, mainly supported by the strong and rising demand from the Asian markets.

Moreover, Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE:MFC) is one of the best dividend-paying companies, as it has been increasing its dividend for 12 consecutive years. The company gives a quarterly dividend of C$0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.08%, as recorded on October 2.