Dividend Contenders List: Top 20 Stocks

12. Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE:MFC)

Dividend Yield as of January 22: 3.38%

On January 8, CIBC upgraded Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE:MFC) to Outperformer from Neutral and lifted its price target to C$58 from C$50. The call reflects steady progress toward medium-term goals, room for upside versus current consensus estimates, and the possibility that the stock could trade at a higher multiple over time.

Manulife’s core life insurance business continues to hold up well. Results have strengthened over recent quarters, helped by higher yields on longer-duration assets. As with other insurers, the company needs to align long-term liabilities with assets that generate cash flows over extended periods, such as bonds. In that context, lower yields, or even expectations that long-term rates may ease, have actually supported the outlook by improving asset-liability matching.

Beyond that, the wealth management arm is gaining momentum. Much of this growth is coming from Asia, where Manulife has been investing heavily, and that expansion plays an important role in the longer-term investment case.

Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE:MFC) is a global financial services company offering insurance and financial advice. It operates under the Manulife brand in Canada, Asia, and Europe, and under the John Hancock name in the United States.