Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Announces Quarterly Dividend of C$0.48

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 4th. Investors of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a dividend of C$0.48 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, December 21st. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th.

Manulife Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 12 consecutive years. Manulife Financial has a payout ratio of 43.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Manulife Financial to earn $3.37 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.38 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 40.9%.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of MFC stock opened at $45.96 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.09. Manulife Financial has a 12 month low of $32.58 and a 12 month high of $46.04.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.67 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Manulife Financial will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting Manulife Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting Manulife Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Manulife reported quarterly earnings of $0.89 per share, above the $0.83 consensus estimate. A separate report said net earnings increased 6% year over year. The earnings beat may support investor confidence. Zacks earnings report Yahoo Finance earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.48 per share, payable December 21 to shareholders of record November 20. The stated annualized yield is 4.2%, adding to the stock’s income appeal.
• Neutral Sentiment: Profit comparisons varied by measure: one report said core earnings rose 4%, while another said quarterly profit fell 22%. The differing figures make the underlying year-over-year trend less clear. RTT News earnings report
• Negative Sentiment: Although EPS beat expectations, it was below the $1.16 reported in the same quarter last year, a year-over-year decline that could temper the positive reaction to the consensus beat.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation is a Canadian financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1887 as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife has grown into a diversified provider of insurance, wealth and asset management, and retirement solutions. Its common shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MFC.

Manulife offers life, health, and property and casualty insurance, along with retirement products, investment solutions, financial advice, and institutional asset management services.