There is a big difference between chasing a hot growth stock and buying a well-established dividend-paying stock that happens to be doing well. One may be about temporary market excitement, while the other is supported by underlying fundamental strength.
Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX: BNS) and Manulife Financial (TSX: MFC) could be two of the best examples of the latter on the TSX today. Both stocks have posted strong gains lately, and that naturally makes them look crowded. But their actual financials and growth outlooks are also moving in the right direction. That is why these two stocks deserve a closer look even after their recent rallies. Let me explain that.
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Scotiabank stock
Bank of Nova Scotia, or Scotiabank, has been one of the most heavily bought Canadian stocks in 2026, as investors continue rewarding the bank for stronger earnings and improving performance across its major businesses.
In short, it provides banking, wealth management, and capital markets services in Canada and many other international markets. Following the 47% rally, BNS stock currently trades at $131.57 per share with a market cap of about $160.4 billion. This market cap makes it the fourth-largest bank in the country. Despite this rally, it still offers an attractive 3.4% annualized dividend yield.
The recent rally in BNS stock has mainly been driven by its stronger financial results and improving macroeconomic outlook. In the third quarter of fiscal 2026 (ended in July), Scotiabank’s total revenue rose about 11% year-over-year (YoY) to roughly $10.5 billion. With this, the bank’s net income jumped nearly 17% YoY to about $3 billion.
Interestingly, its earnings improvement was spread across several business segments. To give you an idea, Scotiabank’s Canadian banking earnings grew 12% YoY with the help of record revenue, another quarter of margin expansion, stronger fee income, and disciplined expense management. At the same time, its global wealth management division’s earnings surged 23% as mutual fund fees, brokerage revenue, and net interest income improved.
In the first nine months of its fiscal year 2026, Scotiabank also returned $6.3 billion to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks. Taken together, BNS still has plenty going for it even after its strong run. Rising profitability, diversified earnings growth, and consistent shareholder returns continue to support the investment case.
Manulife stock
Another TSX stock investors have been buying aggressively this year is Manulife Financial, and its growth trends give that enthusiasm some solid support. The Toronto-based financial services firm provides insurance, wealth management, and investment products across Canada, Asia, Europe, and the United States.
After gaining 44% over the last 12 months, MFC stock now trades at $61.66 per share with a market cap of about $102.5 billion. The stock offers a 3.1% dividend yield at the current market price.
Manulife’s second-quarter 2026 results showed solid earnings momentum, with its net income attributable to shareholders climbing 17% YoY and core earnings increasing 12%. The insurer’s annualized premium equivalent sales also advanced by 21%, pointing to strong new business activity.
Meanwhile, Asia remained an important growth engine for the company, with the geographical segment’s core earnings rising 21% YoY and annualized premium equivalent sales also climbing 21%.
Beyond those results, Manulife continues to invest in longer-term growth. The Canadian insurer is expanding high-net-worth insurance products, adding exchange-traded fund offerings, strengthening advisor distribution, and increasing its use of artificial intelligence (AI) across the business.
For long-term investors, that combination of strong earnings growth, expanding insurance sales, and product innovation is definitely difficult to ignore.
