Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $35.67.

MFC has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Securities raised their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Barclays began coverage on Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Finally, Dbs Bank raised Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Manulife Financial stock opened at $29.63 on Friday. Manulife Financial has a 12-month low of $17.07 and a 12-month high of $29.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.02 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.93.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.27. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.16% and a net margin of 9.18%. The firm had revenue of $9.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.95 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Manulife Financial will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 66.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Manulife Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. FIL Ltd increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 750.5% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 9,910,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $218,990,000 after buying an additional 8,745,071 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 57.9% during the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 23,307,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $582,444,000 after purchasing an additional 8,548,114 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 103.1% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 14,686,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $367,025,000 after purchasing an additional 7,456,712 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 20,710,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $459,108,000 after purchasing an additional 6,663,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 28,803,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $749,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,720,693 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.