Manulife Financial Corp. (STAR)
Contrary to the plot lines of true crime shows, you don’t need to take out a life insurance policy and arrange an “accident” to make a quick buck. Just invest in an insurance company. Shares of Manulife Financial touched a record high after the insurer and wealth manager reported third-quarter earnings of $2-billion, up 10 per cent from a year earlier, and announced an expansion into India’s fast-growing insurance market through a joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra. Owning this stock beats getting featured in an episode of Forensic Files.
Northland Power Inc. (DOG)
Wind turbines can be dangerous for birds. Turns out they’re also hazardous for investors. Shares of Northland Power plunged after the operator of onshore and offshore wind farms slashed its dividend by 40 per cent, to 72 cents a share on an annual basis, from $1.20, citing a desire for “greater financial flexibility for self-funded growth while maintaining an investment grade balance sheet.” With the stock tumbling to a seven-month low, investors’ money is blowing in the wind.
McGraw Hill Inc. (STAR)
When I was a boy, we called ‘em textbooks. We lugged those heavy things back and forth to school every day, through rain and snow and hurricane-force winds. Nowadays, they call ‘em “education solutions” or “content and personalized learning experiences,” and they fit on a student’s phone. That’s why kids today are so soft – no lifting required. The only good thing about digital textbooks is they reduce paper costs, which may be one reason McGraw Hill’s earnings beat expectations. At least the stock’s getting a workout.
Flutter Entertainment PLC (DOG)
Maybe it’s all the game-fixing by pro athletes? Shares of Flutter Entertainment landed in the dirt and rolled to the backstop after the owner of FanDuel and Sky Betting cut its full-year guidance, saying “customer friendly” sports results reduced earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization by about US$170-million from Oct. 1 through Nov. 9. In other words, players made an unusually high number of winning bets. The only thing worse than owning this stock is taking a fastball off the side of your head – unless you had “hit by pitch” in your parlay.
Ag Growth International Inc. (DOG)
True or false? When a company delays filing its financial statements, it’s usually because somebody just forgot and there’s no cause for alarm. Answer: false. Shares of Ag Growth International tumbled after the company, which makes grain handling and storage equipment, said it won’t file its third-quarter results by the prescribed deadline of Nov. 14 because it needs time to review “financial reporting and internal controls” related to its operations in Brazil. With Ag Growth also withdrawing its 2025 earnings guidance, investors are barley holding it together.
Editor’s note: This article has been corrected to state that Northland Power's dividend fell to 72 cents from $1.20 on an annual basis. A previous version incorrectly stated the dividend fell from $1.10 per share.