Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Issues Earnings Results

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.06, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.67 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.16 EPS.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock traded down $2.06 during trading on Thursday, reaching $43.93. The company had a trading volume of 2,254,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,131,971. The company has a market cap of $72.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $43.74 and its 200-day moving average is $40.09. Manulife Financial has a fifty-two week low of $32.58 and a fifty-two week high of $46.19.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be paid a C$0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 51.49%.

Key Stories Impacting Manulife Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting Manulife Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Manulife reported Q3 earnings of $0.89 per share, above the $0.83 analyst consensus, and revenue of $8.78 billion versus estimates of $7.67 billion. Coverage also highlighted a 4% increase in core earnings, giving investors evidence of underlying growth. Zacks Q3 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.48 per share, with payment scheduled for December 21 to shareholders of record November 20. The payout supports MFC’s appeal to income-focused investors.
• Neutral Sentiment: A tranche update was issued for Manulife’s buyback plan announced in February. The supplied report does not state the amount repurchased, limiting insight into the immediate impact. Buyback tranche update
• Negative Sentiment: Reports differed on the year-over-year direction of net profit: one said net earnings rose 6%, while another reported profit fell 22%. That mixed bottom-line picture may offset some of the positive signal from the earnings beat and core growth. Report on Q3 profit and core earnings

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MFC shares. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Scotiabank downgraded Manulife Financial from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Manulife Financial currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $58.75.

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.