Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is C$57.00.

A number of brokerages have commented on MFC. Desjardins set a C$58.00 price objective on Manulife Financial and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. National Bank Financial boosted their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$56.00 to C$59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, TD decreased their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$59.00 to C$58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 14th.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFC opened at C$57.52 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of C$54.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$51.29. The firm has a market capitalization of C$95.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.73. Manulife Financial has a 52 week low of C$41.08 and a 52 week high of C$58.21.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported C$1.06 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$2.15 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 11.97%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Manulife Financial will post 3.6104452 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Manulife Financial news, Director Anthony Alex Silva sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$53.17, for a total transaction of C$58,487.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$376,177.75. The trade was a 13.46% decrease in their position. Also, Director Eileen Cloherty sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$53.45, for a total value of C$347,425.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$182,371.40. This represents a 65.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 136,834 shares of company stock valued at $7,311,659. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading international financial services provider that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better by providing financial advice, insurance, and wealth and asset management solutions. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as MFC on the TSX, NYSE, and PSE, and under 945 on the SEHK. Manulife can be found at manulife.com. One of the largest life insurers in the United States, John Hancock supports more than ten million Americans with a broad range of financial products, including life insurance and annuities.