Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Stock Short Interest Report for September

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 12,021,942 shares, a growth of 55.8% from the September 15th total of 7,716,304 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,432,895 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.4 days.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Manulife Financial stock traded up $0.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $44.08. 534,210 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,168,755. The firm has a market cap of $73.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial has a 52-week low of $31.55 and a 52-week high of $45.33. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 9.99%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Manulife Financial will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were given a dividend of C$0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Manulife Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MFC. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $594,832,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $495,841,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $430,039,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 183.7% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 11,702,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $402,969,000 after buying an additional 7,577,711 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth $230,451,000. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MFC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $58.75.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation is a Canadian financial services company that provides insurance, wealth and asset management, retirement solutions and employee benefits. Its offerings include life and health insurance, annuities, group benefits, mutual funds, pension products and investment management services for individuals, businesses and institutional clients.

Founded in 1887 as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife has grown into an international organization serving customers primarily in Canada, the United States and Asia.