This week, I'm looking for the fifth financial services representative of seven for my Ivy portfolio.

The financials sector includes nineteen industries all related to managing money: asset management; banks either global or from any of seven regions, capital markets, credit services, financial exchanges, insurance in six specializations, savings banks, and specialty finance.

Today I'm reviewing a large-cap insurance - life firm named Manulife Financial Corporation. Its trading ticker symbol is MFC.

Manulife is the largest of the three major Canadian life insurers by market capitalization, ahead of Sun Life and Great-West Life.

It provides financial protection and wealth management products and services to individual and group customers in Canada, the United States, and Asia.

Manulife markets through the brand name Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia and primarily through the brand name John Hancock in the United States.

Additionally, the company holds and manages oil and gas properties; holds oil and gas royalties, and foreign bonds and equities; provides investment management, counseling, advisory, and dealer services; and develops and operates hydro-electric power projects.

Manulife Financial Corporation was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

I use three key data points to gauge the value of any dividend equity-like Manulife Financial Corp:

(1) Price

(2) Dividends

(3) Returns

Besides those three, several other keys will finally unlock an equity or fund in which to invest.

Those first three primary keys, however, best tell whether a company has made, is making, and will make money.

MFC Price

Manulife's price per share closed at $17.56 yesterday. A year ago its price was $19.49. Price fell $1.93 or nearly 10% in the past year.

Assuming Manulife's stock trades in the range of $14.00 to $20.00 this year, Manulife's recent $17.56 price could rise by $1.44 and go to $19.00 by late- May 2020.

MFC Dividends

Manulife's most recent declared quarterly dividend was $0.186 declared May 1st and payable, Jun 19th.

That $0.186 Quarterly dividend equates to an annual payout of $0.744 for a yield of 4.24% at yesterday's $17.56 closing price.

Gains For MAIN?

Adding a $0.74 annual estimated dividend to my $1.44 estimate of Manulife's price upside shows a $2.18 potential gross annual gain, per share, which will be reduced by costs to trade those shares.

Say we pay a little over $1,000.00 today at the $17.56 recent stock price would buy us 57 Manulife Financial Corp shares.

A $10 broker fee paid half at purchase and half at sale will cost us $0.18 per share.

Subtract that $0.18 brokerage cost from the estimated $2.18 gross annual gain leaves a net gain of $2.00 X 57 shares = $114.00 or a 11.4% net gain on a $1,000.92 investment.

Therefore, Manulife Financial Corp whose trading ticker symbol is MFC now shows a possible net gain of 11.4% including a 4.24% dividend yield.

Eighteen brokers cover Manulife Financial Corp (MFC) stock:

Six say "buy" MFC.

Nine say MFC will "outperform".

Three say "hold" MFC.

The consensus score is 2.83 or "outperform".

Therefore, you can look at Manulife Financial Corp and see it has made money, is making money, and could net an 11.4% gain including a 4.24% dividend yield. It could be more, it could be less.   

The above speculation is based on past year performance. The actual results remain to be seen to determine if Manulife Financial Corp is worth your time and money.