Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Stock Now Rated “Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

Shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $58.75.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MFC. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price 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.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:MFC opened at $44.82 on Wednesday. Manulife Financial has a 1-year low of $32.55 and a 1-year high of $45.68. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $43.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.73 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Manulife Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, First Bancorp Inc ME bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.