Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $37.74 and last traded at $37.6850, with a volume of 394580 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Cibc Captl Mkts raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. CIBC upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $64.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.14 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $36.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.20.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.10. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 9.81%.The firm had revenue of $12.90 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.56%.

Institutional Trading of Manulife Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Eastern Bank increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 156.1% in the 2nd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 269.2% during the fourth quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the third quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

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.