Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Given New C$56.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) had its target price upped by research analysts at Scotiabank from C$55.00 to C$56.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Scotiabank’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 12.34% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. National Bank Financial increased their price target on Manulife Financial from C$47.00 to C$52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from C$50.00 to C$58.00 in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a C$52.00 price objective on shares of Manulife Financial and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 19th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Desjardins set a C$55.00 price objective on Manulife Financial and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of C$55.63.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFC stock traded up C$1.15 on Friday, hitting C$49.85. The stock had a trading volume of 2,021,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,620,059. The business has a 50 day moving average of C$50.61 and a 200 day moving average of C$46.64. Manulife Financial has a 12-month low of C$36.93 and a 12-month high of C$52.97. The stock has a market cap of C$83.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.99.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported C$1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$22.03 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 11.75%. As a group, research analysts expect that Manulife Financial will post 3.6104452 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Manulife Financial

In other Manulife Financial news, insider Shamus Edward Weiland sold 88,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$48.95, for a total transaction of C$4,332,075.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 53,495 shares in the company, valued at C$2,618,580.25. This trade represents a 62.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Rahim Hirji sold 25,048 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$48.25, for a total value of C$1,208,566.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 31,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$1,510,948.75. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife provides life insurance and wealth management products and services to individuals and group customers in Canada, the United States, and Asia. Manulife is one of Canada’s Big Three Life Insurance companies (the other two are Sun Life and Great West Life). As of Dec. 31, 2021, Manulife reported assets under management or administration of about CAD $1.4 trillion.