Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.01, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 16.58%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.3%

MFC stock traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $44.58. 2,948,278 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,211,758. The company has a market capitalization of $74.09 billion, a PE ratio of 17.69 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial has a twelve month low of $29.70 and a twelve month high of $45.33. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.42.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 56.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Manulife Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 179.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $872,000 after acquiring an additional 18,222 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 56,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after acquiring an additional 8,900 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 814.3% during the second quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $204,544,000 after purchasing an additional 5,699,999 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MFC. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Zacks Research downgraded Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.50.

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.