Short Interest in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Drops By 47.8%

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totaling 12,989,766 shares, a drop of 47.8% from the May 31st total of 24,904,565 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,017,294 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.4 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on MFC shares. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Manulife Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MFC. Hoge Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Hoge Financial Services LLC now owns 31,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,160,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 3.3% in the first quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 8,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 14,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 59,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Finally, Midwest Professional Planners LTD. increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 27,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $954,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.9%

MFC opened at $40.66 on Tuesday. Manulife Financial has a 12-month low of $29.70 and a 12-month high of $41.43. The business has a 50 day moving average of $39.16 and a 200-day moving average of $37.18. The stock has a market cap of $67.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 10.19%.The business had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Manulife Financial will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 56.75%.

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.