Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Receives $59.00 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) have earned an average rating of “Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $59.00.

MFC has been the subject of several research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, August 6th.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.6%

MFC opened at $44.31 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $43.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.82. Manulife Financial has a 1-year low of $30.52 and a 1-year high of $45.33. The company has a market cap of $73.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 9.99%.The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MFC. Canerector Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 27.0% in the first quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 800,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 170,000 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 7,577,711 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 5,645,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $194,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,200 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 128,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,216,000 after purchasing an additional 29,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $92,762,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation is a Canada-based financial services company that provides insurance, wealth management and asset management products to individuals, businesses and institutional clients. Its offerings include life and health insurance, retirement solutions, investment products, group benefits and long-term care coverage.

Manulife serves customers primarily in Canada, the United States and Asia. In the United States, its insurance and retirement businesses operate under the John Hancock brand.