Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Receives $37.50 Average Price Target from Analysts

Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.50.

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

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.3 %

MFC opened at $32.19 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $30.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.58. Manulife Financial has a 12-month low of $18.91 and a 12-month high of $33.07. The firm has a market cap of $56.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.55, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.08.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.30. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 9.79%. The firm had revenue of $10.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $0.296 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Manulife Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 1,210.7% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,161,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,922,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072,474 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 2,913.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 86,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after acquiring an additional 83,741 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,783,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $393,592,000 after acquiring an additional 75,244 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,289,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,806,508,000 after acquiring an additional 727,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,705,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

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.