Manulife Financial (MFC) Competitors

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) and Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) are both large-cap insurance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, profitability, media sentiment, valuation and institutional ownership.

Is MFC or L a better dividend stock?

Manulife Financial pays an annual dividend of C$1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Loblaw Companies pays an annual dividend of C$0.53 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Manulife Financial pays out 54.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Loblaw Companies pays out 26.1% 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.

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of MFC or L?

32.9% of Manulife Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 8.8% of Loblaw Companies shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of Manulife Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 53.8% of Loblaw Companies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor MFC or L?

In the previous week, Loblaw Companies had 3 more articles in the media than Manulife Financial. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for Loblaw Companies and 2 mentions for Manulife Financial. Manulife Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.29 beat Loblaw Companies' score of 0.08 indicating that Manulife Financial is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Manulife Financial	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Loblaw Companies	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, MFC or L?

Manulife Financial has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Loblaw Companies. Manulife Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Loblaw Companies, 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
Manulife Financial	C$47.46B	1.57	C$5.64B	C$3.10	14.15
Loblaw Companies	C$62.29B	1.03	C$2.23B	C$2.02	26.74

Do analysts rate MFC or L?

Manulife Financial presently has a consensus target price of C$47.75, suggesting a potential upside of 8.87%. Loblaw Companies has a consensus target price of C$199.25, suggesting a potential upside of 269.32%. Given Loblaw Companies' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Loblaw Companies is more favorable than Manulife Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Manulife Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.71
Loblaw Companies	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

Is MFC or L more profitable?

Manulife Financial has a net margin of 12.52% compared to Loblaw Companies' net margin of 3.71%. Loblaw Companies' return on equity of 19.90% beat Manulife Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Manulife Financial	12.52%	11.75%	0.55%
Loblaw Companies	3.71%	19.90%	5.89%

Which has more risk and volatility, MFC or L?

Manulife Financial has a beta of 0.982238, indicating that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Loblaw Companies has a beta of 0.423253, indicating that its share price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Loblaw Companies beats Manulife Financial on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.