Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) have received an average rating of “Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$66.00.

MFC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. National Bank Financial increased their target price on Manulife Financial from C$59.00 to C$69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Manulife Financial from C$61.00 to C$70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$56.00 to C$59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$55.00 to C$67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$67.00 to C$70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of MFC opened at C$61.40 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of C$101.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.71. Manulife Financial has a one year low of C$41.22 and a one year high of C$63.58. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is C$59.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$53.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.52, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 2.58.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported C$1.09 earnings per share for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 11.62%.The firm had revenue of C$20.34 billion during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Manulife Financial will post 3.6104452 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 50.14%.

Insider Activity at Manulife Financial

In other news, Director Anthony Alex Silva acquired 2,334 shares of Manulife Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of C$53.16 per share, with a total value of C$124,075.44. Following the acquisition, the director owned 8,175 shares in the company, valued at C$434,583. This represents a 39.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Rahul Madhav Joshi sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$54.29, for a total value of C$1,357,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 77,185 shares in the company, valued at C$4,190,373.65. The trade was a 24.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 125,677 shares of company stock worth $6,804,476. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.