Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $51.50.

A number of research firms recently commented on MFC. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price objective on Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, December 15th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Manulife Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Sfam LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Manulife Financial stock opened at $34.41 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.56. Manulife Financial has a fifty-two week low of $25.92 and a fifty-two week high of $38.72.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $11.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.43%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Manulife Financial will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 63.96%.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational insurance and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in the late 19th century as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life and health insurance, retirement and pension solutions, wealth and asset management, and group benefits.

In wealth and asset management, Manulife operates through Manulife Investment Management and offers mutual funds, segregated funds, institutional asset management, and retirement plan solutions.