Manulife Financial Corp (MFC) – What Are Brokerages Thinking About This Stock?

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the seven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $58.75.

MFC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded Manulife Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Manulife Financial from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 16,757,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $683,609,000 after purchasing an additional 81,973 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $594,832,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $495,841,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $402,969,000 after acquiring an additional 7,577,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the second quarter valued at about $430,039,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MFC traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $44.28. 1,131,426 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,338,013. The company has a market cap of $73.48 billion, a PE ratio of 16.52 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $43.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.09. Manulife Financial has a twelve month low of $31.55 and a twelve month high of $45.33.

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

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

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

Manulife Financial Company Profile

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.