5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Manulife Financial

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 120,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, Canadian life insurance giant Manulife Financial (NYSE: MFC) has earned a coveted five-star ranking. Our data has shown that five-star stocks outperform the market by a significant margin; conversely, one-star stocks have woefully lagged the market average.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Manulife's business, and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Manulife facts

Headquarters (founded)	Toronto (1887)
Market Cap	$25.7 billion
Industry	Life and Health Insurance
TTM Revenue	$25.2 billion
Management	CEO Dominic D'Alessandro CFO Peter Rubenovitch
Return on Equity (average last three years)	15.8%
Dividend Yield	4.9%
Competitors	Sun Life Financial, Prudential Financial (NYSE: PRU)
CAPS members bullish on MFC also bullish on	General Electric (NYSE: GE), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)
CAPS members bearish on MFC also bearish on	UBS (NYSE: UBS), GameStop (NYSE: GME)

Sources: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's, and Motley Fool CAPS. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over on CAPS, some 98% of the 358 members who have rated Manulife believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include CAPS All-Stars mulledover and baillirw, both of whom are ranked in the top 20% of our community.

A month ago, mulledover kept the Manulife bull case simple: "Life insurer, good mgmt generally, might have been a bit more defensive with investments (ie hedged better). Should pick up some of AIG's (NYSE: AIG) business."

In a more detailed pitch from early last year, baillirw agrees, highlighting the stock as an attractive dividend and global growth play:

Domestically, Manulife is in a great position to excel in both Canadian and American markets, however, its positions in Asia and more importantly, China, are of particular interest. Did you know that only 6% of the Chinese have life insurance? Can you spell underdeveloped market? With superior access to these fast growing markets, I feel that Manulife can continue to outperform its industry peers for years to come, whether you look at stock price, dividend growth or earnings growth. Because of these factors, I can understand why Manulife deserves a superior multiple to its competitors as first class merchandise always sells for top dollar.

What do you think about Manulife, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 120,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.