Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Given New C$61.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) had its target price upped by research analysts at Scotiabank from C$56.00 to C$61.00 in a report released on Wednesday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a “sector outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Scotiabank’s target price indicates a potential upside of 0.84% from the stock’s previous close.

MFC has been the topic of a number of other reports. National Bank Financial boosted their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$56.00 to C$59.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Desjardins set a C$58.00 target price on Manulife Financial and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upped their price target on Manulife Financial from C$61.00 to C$69.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TD lowered their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$59.00 to C$58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of C$58.78.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Manulife Financial stock traded up C$1.82 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching C$60.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,683,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,153,132. Manulife Financial has a 12-month low of C$41.08 and a 12-month high of C$60.52. The company has a market capitalization of C$100.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is C$55.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$51.92.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported C$1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 11.97%.The firm had revenue of C$2.15 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts predict that Manulife Financial will post 3.6104452 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Manulife Financial news, insider Rahul Madhav Joshi sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$54.29, for a total value of C$1,357,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 77,185 shares in the company, valued at C$4,190,373.65. This represents a 24.47% decrease in their position. Also, Director Aimee Decamillo sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$51.77, for a total value of C$931,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,996 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$258,642.92. The trade was a 78.27% decrease in their position. Insiders sold a total of 136,834 shares of company stock worth $7,311,659 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

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.