Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Stock to Pay Quarterly Dividend of C$0.48

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of C$0.48 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, December 21st. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th.

Manulife Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 12 years. Manulife Financial has a payout ratio of 43.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Manulife Financial to earn $3.37 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.38 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 40.9%.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFC opened at $45.96 on Thursday. Manulife Financial has a one year low of $32.58 and a one year high of $46.04. The company has a market capitalization of $76.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $43.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.09.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.67 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded Manulife Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $58.75.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation is a Canadian financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1887 as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife has grown into a diversified provider of insurance, wealth and asset management, and retirement solutions. Its common shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MFC.

Manulife offers life, health, and property and casualty insurance, along with retirement products, investment solutions, financial advice, and institutional asset management services.