Analysts Set Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) PT at $33.33

Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $33.33.

MFC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Manulife Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Desjardins upgraded Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. TheStreet upgraded Manulife Financial from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company.

Institutional Trading of Manulife Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in Manulife Financial in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its position in Manulife Financial by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares during the period. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in Manulife Financial by 478.5% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFC opened at $23.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.08. Manulife Financial has a one year low of $17.07 and a one year high of $25.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $23.91 and its 200-day moving average is $21.23.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $10.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.42%. Analysts forecast that Manulife Financial will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.298 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.03%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 61.66%.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.