Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totaling 12,989,766 shares, a drop of 47.8% from the May 31st total of 24,904,565 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,017,294 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.4 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Manulife Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Canerector Inc. increased its position in Manulife Financial by 27.0% during the first quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 800,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 170,000 shares during the last quarter. Sfam LLC bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE MFC traded up $0.22 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $40.73. The company had a trading volume of 795,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,954,284. The stock has a market cap of $67.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial has a 12-month low of $29.70 and a 12-month high of $41.43. The business’s 50-day moving average is $39.24 and its 200 day moving average is $37.26.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 10.19%.During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MFC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings raised Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.50.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational insurance and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in the late 19th century as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life and health insurance, retirement and pension solutions, wealth and asset management, and group benefits.

In wealth and asset management, Manulife operates through Manulife Investment Management and offers mutual funds, segregated funds, institutional asset management, and retirement plan solutions.