Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $58.75 According to Analysts

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) has received an average rating of “Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two 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 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $58.75.

Several research firms recently weighed in on MFC. Scotiabank cut shares of Manulife Financial from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Zacks Research raised Manulife Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered Manulife Financial from a “buy (a+)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, August 6th.

Institutional Trading of Manulife Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MFC. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 148.4% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 75,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,227,000 after purchasing an additional 45,263 shares during the last quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 9.0% during the third quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $666,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 4.2% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 54,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,345,000 after buying an additional 2,201 shares during the last quarter. Composition Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the third quarter valued at about $321,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.0% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,514,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $152,310,000 after buying an additional 166,081 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.1%

Manulife Financial stock opened at $44.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.12 billion, a PE ratio of 17.49 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.23. Manulife Financial has a 1-year low of $32.58 and a 1-year high of $46.19.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.06. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.75% and a net margin of 10.28%. The firm had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial will post 3.00 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 21st. Investors of record on Friday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of C$0.48 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.55%.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation is a Canadian financial services company that provides insurance, wealth management and investment services to individuals and businesses. Its offerings include life and health insurance, group benefits, retirement solutions and investment products. Founded in 1887 as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife serves customers in Canada, the United States and Asia. In the United States, it operates primarily under the John Hancock name. The company also provides asset management services to institutional and retail clients through Manulife Investment Management, which offers investment strategies across a range of asset classes.