Power Co. of Canada (POW) Competitors

Power Co. of Canada (TSE:POW) and Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) are both large-cap financial services companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their community ranking, valuation, dividends, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and profitability.

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in POW or MFC?

32.6% of Power Co. of Canada shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.2% of Manulife Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.1% of Power Co. of Canada shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Manulife Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more volatility & risk, POW or MFC?

Power Co. of Canada has a beta of 1.09, suggesting that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Manulife Financial has a beta of 1.06, suggesting that its stock price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor POW or MFC?

In the previous week, Manulife Financial had 19 more articles in the media than Power Co. of Canada. MarketBeat recorded 34 mentions for Manulife Financial and 15 mentions for Power Co. of Canada. Manulife Financial's average media sentiment score of 0.79 beat Power Co. of Canada's score of 0.32 indicating that Manulife Financial is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Power Co. of Canada	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Manulife Financial	7 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	10 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in POW or MFC?

Manulife Financial received 271 more outperform votes than Power Co. of Canada when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 66.24% of users gave Manulife Financial an outperform vote while only 52.65% of users gave Power Co. of Canada an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Power Co. of Canada	Outperform Votes 298 52.65%	Underperform Votes 268 47.35%
Manulife Financial	Outperform Votes 569 66.24%	Underperform Votes 290 33.76%

Do analysts rate POW or MFC?

Power Co. of Canada currently has a consensus target price of C$43.83, indicating a potential downside of 5.88%. Manulife Financial has a consensus target price of C$42.27, indicating a potential downside of 4.45%. Given Manulife Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Manulife Financial is more favorable than Power Co. of Canada.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Power Co. of Canada	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.63
Manulife Financial	1 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.69

Is POW or MFC more profitable?

Manulife Financial has a net margin of 17.34% compared to Power Co. of Canada's net margin of 8.29%. Power Co. of Canada's return on equity of 11.29% beat Manulife Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Power Co. of Canada	8.29%	11.29%	0.47%
Manulife Financial	17.34%	10.41%	0.55%

Which has better valuation & earnings, POW or MFC?

Manulife Financial has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Power Co. of Canada. Power Co. of Canada is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Manulife Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Power Co. of Canada	C$34.63B	0.80	C$2.92B	C$4.39	10.61
Manulife Financial	C$28.48B	2.75	C$4.24B	C$2.35	18.83

Is POW or MFC a better dividend stock?

Power Co. of Canada pays an annual dividend of C$2.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Manulife Financial pays an annual dividend of C$1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Power Co. of Canada pays out 51.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Manulife Financial pays out 68.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Power Co. of Canada is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Manulife Financial beats Power Co. of Canada on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.