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TM Editors' note: This article discusses a penny stock and/or microcap. Such stocks are easily manipulated; do your own careful due diligence.

Manila Electric Co (MAEOY), or Meralco, is an electric utility company serving the Philippines.

Meralco generates, transmits, and distributes electricity through its portfolio of thermal power plants. The vast majority of the energy produced by the company comes from its natural gas and coal facilities.

Meralco generates almost all of its revenue through the sale of electricity. While nearly all of the company's customers are residential entities, total energy sales are split fairly evenly between commercial, industrial, and residential customers.

Meralco is the electric distribution company in the Philippines and serves dozens of cities and municipalities, including Metropolitan Manila.

Manila Electric Company was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Pasig, Philippines.

Three key data points gauge Meralco or any dividend-paying firm.

The key three are:

(1) Price

(2) Dividends

(3) Returns

Those three basic keys also best tell whether any company has made, is making, and will make money.

MAEOY Price

Over the past year, Meralco's share price increased 7.33% from $12.00 to $12.88 as of Wednesday’s market close.

If Meralco shares trade in the range of $12.00 to $15.00 this next year, its recent $12.88 share price might rise to $13.50 by next year. Of course, MAEOY's price could also drop about the same $0.62 estimated amount or more.

My $0.62 upside estimate is $.06 over the average of annual MAEOY share price increase over the past three years.

MAEOY Dividend

Meralco has paid Semi-Annual variable dividends since May 2014.

Meralco’s most recent SA dividend of $0.39 was declared February 26th for shareholders of record March 26th and the dividend was paid May 9th.

A forward-looking $0.78 annual dividend yields 6.92% at Wednesday’s closing share price.

MAEOY Returns

To put it all together, add the Meralco projected annual dividend of $0.78 to the estimated price upside of $0.62 to get a $1.40 estimated gross gain per share for the coming year.

At Wednesday’s $12.88 share price, a little over $1000 would buy 78 shares.

A $10 broker fee (if charged), paid half at purchase and half at sale, would cost us about $0.13 per share.

Subtracting that likely $0.13 brokerage cost from the $1.40 estimated gross gain reveals a net gain of $1.27 X 78 shares = $99.06 for about a 9.8% estimated net gain on the year.

Furthermore, the $60.20 annual dividend income from $1K invested is nearly 5 times more than the $12.88 single share price. By these numbers, MAEOY is an ideal dividend dog.

You might choose to pounce on Meralco. It is a 121-year-old dividend-paying Pasig Phillipines-based electric utility company that has a 10-year track record paying semi-annual variable dividends.

The exact track of MAEOY's future price and dividend will entirely be determined by market action.

Remember the true value of any stock is best realized through personal ownership of shares.

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