Contrasting Manulife Financial (MFC) & Its Peers

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) is one of 311 publicly-traded companies in the “Insurance” industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare Manulife Financial to similar companies based on the strength of its risk, profitability, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

52.6% of Manulife Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.8% of shares of all “Insurance” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Manulife Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.5% of shares of all “Insurance” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Manulife Financial and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Manulife Financial	9.99%	16.68%	0.75%
Manulife Financial Competitors	9.12%	-9.91%	4.08%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Manulife Financial and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Manulife Financial	0	2	3	2	3.00
Manulife Financial Competitors	3323	15640	16476	738	2.40

Manulife Financial currently has a consensus price target of $58.75, suggesting a potential upside of 31.07%. As a group, “Insurance” companies have a potential upside of 5.10%. Given Manulife Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Manulife Financial is more favorable than its competitors.

Risk and Volatility

Manulife Financial has a beta of 0.86, meaning that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Manulife Financial’s competitors have a beta of -1.59, meaning that their average share price is 259% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Manulife Financial and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Manulife Financial	$43.63 billion	$4.14 billion	16.73
Manulife Financial Competitors	$15.39 billion	$1.70 billion	34.74

Manulife Financial has higher revenue and earnings than its competitors. Manulife Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

Manulife Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.38 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Manulife Financial pays out 51.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Insurance” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.9% and pay out 30.4% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Manulife Financial has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years.

Summary

Manulife Financial beats its competitors on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

About Manulife Financial

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. The Insurance and Annuity Products segment provides deposit and credit products; and individual life insurance, individual and group long-term care insurance, and guaranteed and partially guaranteed annuity products through multiple distribution channels, including insurance agents, brokers, banks, financial planners, and direct marketing. The Corporate and Other segment is involved in the property and casualty reinsurance businesses; and run-off reinsurance operations, including variable annuities, and accident and health. The company also manages timberland and agricultural portfolios; and engages in insurance agency, investment counseling and dealer, portfolio and mutual fund management, property and casualty insurance, and mutual fund dealer businesses. In addition, it provides integrated banking products and services. The company was incorporated in 1887 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.