Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as C$63.67 and last traded at C$63.65, with a volume of 667,924 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$62.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MFC has been the topic of a number of research reports. National Bank Financial reduced their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$69.00 to C$68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Scotia raised their price target on Manulife Financial from C$61.00 to C$67.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. TD boosted their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$65.00 to C$67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Barclays upped their price target on Manulife Financial from C$56.00 to C$59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Manulife Financial from C$67.00 to C$70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$65.91.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 2.0%

The company’s 50-day moving average price is C$60.83 and its 200 day moving average price is C$57.63. The stock has a market cap of C$105.46 billion, a PE ratio of 17.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.52, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 2.36.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported C$1.09 EPS for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 11.62%. The company had revenue of C$20.34 billion for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 3.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were given a dividend of $0.4850 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 50.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Patrick David Graham sold 6,843 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$62.06, for a total value of C$424,676.58. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Manulife Financial

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.