Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 12,021,942 shares, an increase of 55.8% from the September 15th total of 7,716,304 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,432,895 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.4 days. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MFC. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $58.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $145,177,000. Canerector Inc. raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 27.0% during the first quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 800,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 170,000 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 183.7% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 11,702,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $402,969,000 after acquiring an additional 7,577,711 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 25.7% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 5,645,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $194,191,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154,200 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $92,762,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

MFC opened at $44.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $73.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial has a 52-week low of $31.55 and a 52-week high of $45.33. The business’s fifty day moving average is $43.41 and its 200-day moving average is $41.09.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 9.99%. Manulife Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Manulife Financial will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were given a dividend of C$0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.49%.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation is a Canadian financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1887 as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife has grown into a diversified provider of insurance, wealth and asset management, and retirement solutions. Its common shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MFC.

Manulife offers life, health, and property and casualty insurance, along with retirement products, investment solutions, financial advice, and institutional asset management services.