Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the eight research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $59.00.

Several equities analysts recently commented on MFC shares. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research lowered Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC opened at $42.48 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.88. Manulife Financial has a 1 year low of $29.70 and a 1 year high of $45.33. The firm has a market cap of $70.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 0.84.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 51.49%.

Institutional Investors 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at $25,000. First Bancorp Inc ME purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Canerector Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 800,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 170,000 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

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.