Dividend, FTSE 100 inclusion lend appeal to Phoenix Group shares - Barron's

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of U.K. insurer Phoenix Group Holdings are appealing for several reasons including their pending inclusion in a key British stock index and a stable, hefty dividend, according to Barron's.

Starting on Monday, Phoenix Group will be included in the FTSE 100 index which means fund managers that track that index will need to buy the stock.

The company also is expected to pay a bigger dividend than its life-insurance industry peers, according to Barron's. The article cited a Barclays report that said it expects Phoenix’s dividend yield to total 7.5 percent this year, above 7 percent for Legal & General Group and 6.7 percent for Dutch life insurer Aegon.

Phoenix Group shares are up 24 percent so far in 2019.

(Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)