Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) Receives C$57.00 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$57.00.

Several research firms recently issued reports on MFC. TD Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$60.00 to C$59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Manulife Financial from C$52.00 to C$55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. TD cut their price target on Manulife Financial from C$59.00 to C$58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Desjardins set a C$58.00 price target on Manulife Financial and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Manulife Financial from C$55.00 to C$56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of TSE MFC opened at C$54.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$90.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.56, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is C$52.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$50.34. Manulife Financial has a 52-week low of C$41.08 and a 52-week high of C$55.34.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported C$1.06 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$2.15 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 12.65% and a net margin of 11.97%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial will post 3.6104452 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Rahul Madhav Joshi sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$53.23, for a total value of C$1,863,050.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 77,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$4,108,557.55. This represents a 31.20% decrease in their position. Also, Director Aimee Decamillo sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$51.77, for a total value of C$931,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,996 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$258,642.92. This represents a 78.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 115,334 shares of company stock worth $6,117,054. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading international financial services provider that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better by providing financial advice, insurance, and wealth and asset management solutions. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as MFC on the TSX, NYSE, and PSE, and under 945 on the SEHK. Manulife can be found at manulife.com. One of the largest life insurers in the United States, John Hancock supports more than ten million Americans with a broad range of financial products, including life insurance and annuities.