Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $37.64 and last traded at $37.0660, with a volume of 289 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price objective on Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Cibc Captl Mkts raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, CIBC upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $61.84 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s fifty day moving average is $35.35 and its 200-day moving average is $32.67.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.10. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The firm had revenue of $12.90 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 26th. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Manulife Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Eastern Bank raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 156.1% in the second quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the period. American Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

About Manulife Financial

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.