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

That financial sector includes twenty industries ranging from Asset Management to 8 kinds of Banks, Credit, Exchanges, 6 kinds of Insurance, Savings, and all such financial concerns.

Today I'm reviewing another mid-cap bank - regional - US entity named People's United Financial. The trading ticker symbol is PBCT.

People's United Financial Inc has nearly $39 billion of assets. People's United Bank is one of the largest New England-based banks and among the top 50 in the U.S.

Of the bank's 422 locations, 40% are in Connecticut, where it ranks third by deposit market share. It also ranks among the top 10 in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

The bank offers brokerage, financial advisory and wealth management, and insurance services. Commercial real estate accounts for 35% of the loan book, C&I and equipment financing accounts for another 35%, and the rest is in mortgages and consumer credit.

It operates through a network of 422 branches in Connecticut, southeastern New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire, as well as 607 ATMs.

The company was founded in 1842 and is headquartered in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

I use three key data points to gauge dividend paying equities or funds like People's United Financial:

(1) Price

(2) Dividends

(3) Returns

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

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

PBCT Price

People's price per share closed at $16.30 yesterday. A year ago its price was $18.55. Price fell $2.25 or 12.13% in the past year.

Assuming People's stock trades in the range of $14.00 to $20.00 this year, People's recent $16.30 price could rise by $0.70 and go to $17.00 by late June 2020.

PBCT Dividends

People's most recent quarterly dividend was $0.1775 paid May 15th.

That $0.1775 Q payout equates to an annual dividend of $0.71 which produces a yield of 4.36% based on yesterday's $16.30 closing price.

Gains For PBCT?

Adding the $0.71 annual estimated dividend to my $0.70 estimate of People's price upside shows a $1.41 potential gross annual gain, per share, which will be reduced by costs to trade those shares.

Say we pay a little under $1,000.00 today at the $16.30 recent stock price would buy 61 People's United Financial shares.

A $10 broker fee paid half at purchase and half at sale will cost us $0.16 per share.

Subtract that $0.16 brokerage cost from the estimated $1.41 gross annual gain leaves a net gain of $1.25 X 61 shares = $76.25 or a 7.65% net gain on a $994.30 investment.

Therefore, People's United Financial whose trading ticker symbol is PBCT, now shows a possible net gain of 7.65% including a 4.35% dividend yield.

Eleven brokers track People's United Financial stock:

One says "buy" PBCT shares,

One says PBCT shares will "outperform" peers.

Nine say "hold" your PBCT shares.

The eleven broker consensus is "hold".

Therefore, you can look at People's United Financial and see it has made money, is making money, and could net a 7.65% gain including a 4.35% 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 People's United Financial is worth your time and money.