With a low interest rate climate, the Canadian insurance industry has seemed interesting to watch during the last few years. But all insurance stocks have not benefitted from the market growth. Having said that, there’s one particular insurance play that looks to be a top buy in March: Manulife (TSX: MFC)(NYSE: MFC).
Here’s why.
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Factors in Manulife’s favour
Manulife is among the largest life insurers globally. This company boasts a market capitalization of more than $50 billion and $1.4 trillion in assets under management and administration. Operating in Asia and North America, Manulife provides life insurance, annuity, pension, asset management products and health insurance.
Asia represents more than 50% of Manulife’s overall revenue. Accordingly, for those bullish on the growth of the Asia Pacific region, this is a good thing. As the middle class continues to grow, Manulife is well positioned to benefit. Over the long term, those in the insurance business have a lot to like about Manulife’s geopolitical positioning right now.
Additionally, aging populations globally stand to provide a key demand driver for Manulife moving forward. This demand driver, alongside higher interest rates, could be a one-two punch in terms of growing demand alongside growing margins.
Impressive quarterly results
The forward-looking prospects for Manulife remain strong. However, looking back at the company’s earnings, there’s also a lot to like.
Manulife recently reported its Q4 earnings, which showed strength on a number of metrics. Notably, the company beat earrings-per-share estimates by more than 3%, with the company’s bottom line surging 17% on a year-over-year basis.
Additionally, Manulife’s core earnings grew 8.3% from the previous quarter. Those kinds of numbers are hard to produce and have signaled that this value stock is one that ought to be considered at these levels. A number of factors were responsible for these strong results.
Notably, Manulife’s higher assets under management for its Global Wealth and Asset Management business was a key driver. Core investing profits were up, and a decrease in losses also helped boost the company’s bottom line.
Indeed, the company’s current valuation at around seven times earnings is one value investors ought to like. There are few companies with these kinds of fundamentals trading at these levels in this market.
Bottom line
Overall, Manulife is a stock that provides a relatively simple to understand investing thesis. This stock is cheap, has great fundamentals, and has a strong growth outlook. For long-term investors, this is a perfect mix to consider (irrespective of a strong dividend yield as well).
Right now, Manulife is a top stock on my buy list for March. This is a company I think all investors should consider at these levels right now.
