Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Announces Earnings Results

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.30, Briefing.com reports. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 16.26%. The firm had revenue of $10.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 1.5 %

MFC stock traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $31.79. 1,458,066 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,286,677. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.06. Manulife Financial has a 1-year low of $18.42 and a 1-year high of $32.94. The company has a market cap of $55.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.08.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $0.296 dividend. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 56.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Dbs Bank raised shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays initiated coverage on Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $35.67.

About Manulife Financial

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.