Manulife Financial Co. Forecasted to Earn Q3 2024 Earnings of $0.71 Per Share (NYSE:MFC)

Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) – Investment analysts at Desjardins increased their Q3 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Manulife Financial in a report released on Wednesday, October 9th. Desjardins analyst D. Young now anticipates that the financial services provider will earn $0.71 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $0.69. The consensus estimate for Manulife Financial’s current full-year earnings is $2.73 per share. Desjardins also issued estimates for Manulife Financial’s FY2024 earnings at $2.78 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $3.22 EPS.

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

Several other analysts have also issued reports on MFC. Barclays assumed coverage on Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Dbs Bank upgraded Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, TD Securities upped their price objective on Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $35.67.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

MFC opened at $30.39 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.08. Manulife Financial has a 52-week low of $17.07 and a 52-week high of $30.52.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Manulife Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Duality Advisers LP grew its position in Manulife Financial by 795.2% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 217,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,439,000 after buying an additional 193,343 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in Manulife Financial by 1,210.7% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,161,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,922,000 after buying an additional 1,072,474 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Manulife Financial by 2,913.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 86,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,163,000 after buying an additional 83,741 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Manulife Financial by 0.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,783,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $393,592,000 after buying an additional 75,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Manulife Financial by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,289,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,806,508,000 after buying an additional 727,764 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 66.86%.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

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.