Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $41.74 and last traded at $41.1940, with a volume of 775329 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.29.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MFC shares. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.3%

The company has a market cap of $68.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $39.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.52.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 10.19%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 56.75%.

Institutional Trading of Manulife Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 179.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $872,000 after buying an additional 18,222 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 56,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after buying an additional 8,900 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the period. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 814.3% during the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $204,544,000 after buying an additional 5,699,999 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

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.