Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as C$55.34 and last traded at C$54.57, with a volume of 1026724 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$54.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Desjardins set a C$58.00 price target on Manulife Financial and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$52.00 to C$55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$54.00 to C$58.00 in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$55.00 to C$56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$60.00 to C$59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$56.63.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.4%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of C$49.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$49.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.80, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 2.12. The firm has a market cap of C$91.15 billion, a PE ratio of 17.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.74.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported C$1.12 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$22.03 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.91% and a return on equity of 11.34%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 3.6104452 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 57.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Manulife Financial

In other news, Director Adam Thomas Wise sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$46.47, for a total transaction of C$162,645.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$116,035.59. This represents a 58.36% decrease in their position. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading international financial services provider that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better by providing financial advice, insurance, and wealth and asset management solutions. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as MFC on the TSX, NYSE, and PSE, and under 945 on the SEHK. Manulife can be found at manulife.com. One of the largest life insurers in the United States, John Hancock supports more than ten million Americans with a broad range of financial products, including life insurance and annuities.