Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Receives $35.67 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) has earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $35.67.

Several research firms recently weighed in on MFC. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Manulife Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 57.9% during the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 23,307,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $582,444,000 after purchasing an additional 8,548,114 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 103.1% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 14,686,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $367,025,000 after buying an additional 7,456,712 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 14.8% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 28,803,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $749,435,000 after acquiring an additional 3,720,693 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new stake in Manulife Financial in the first quarter worth $75,231,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 288.4% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,943,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,966,000 after acquiring an additional 2,928,316 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of MFC opened at $29.79 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.08. Manulife Financial has a twelve month low of $17.07 and a twelve month high of $30.86. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.57.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.27. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.16%. The company had revenue of $9.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Manulife Financial will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.05%.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.