Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) Receives C$36.30 Average PT from Analysts

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$36.30.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MFC shares. Veritas Investment Research reiterated a “reduce” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$34.00 to C$38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. TD Securities downgraded Manulife Financial from an “action list buy” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from C$35.00 to C$37.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. CIBC boosted their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$30.00 to C$34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$35.00 to C$40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MFC stock opened at C$31.72 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of C$57.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 1.09. Manulife Financial has a twelve month low of C$23.69 and a twelve month high of C$34.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 3.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 45.69. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is C$32.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$29.03.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported C$0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.84 by C$0.08. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 20.05%. The firm had revenue of C$14.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$10.24 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Manulife Financial will post 3.6893764 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.04%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 61.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Manulife Financial news, Director Brooks Tingle sold 3,317 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$32.76, for a total transaction of C$108,664.92. In other news, Senior Officer Steve Finch sold 10,294 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$32.76, for a total value of C$337,231.44. Also, Director Brooks Tingle sold 3,317 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$32.76, for a total value of C$108,664.92. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.