Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.30

Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 6th,Zacks Dividends reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of 0.296 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29.

Manulife Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 9.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 11 years. Manulife Financial has a payout ratio of 40.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Manulife Financial to earn $2.96 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.18 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 39.9%.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MFC traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $31.81. 311,886 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,530,891. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.08. Manulife Financial has a one year low of $18.42 and a one year high of $32.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $29.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.96.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $9.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.95 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.16% and a net margin of 9.18%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Manulife Financial will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $35.67.

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.