Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 13,067,775 shares, an increase of 147.3% from the July 15th total of 5,285,069 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,717,506 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.6 days. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Manulife Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Canerector Inc. boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 27.0% in the first quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 800,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 170,000 shares during the period. Finally, Sfam LLC bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Manulife Financial stock opened at $43.95 on Friday. Manulife Financial has a 52 week low of $29.70 and a 52 week high of $45.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $41.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.67.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Manulife Financial will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 53.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on MFC shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $59.00.

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.