Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $59.00.

MFC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.2%

MFC stock opened at $43.12 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $42.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.06. The stock has a market cap of $71.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.09 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial has a twelve month low of $30.20 and a twelve month high of $45.33.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.01. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Manulife Financial will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the second quarter worth $26,000. First Bancorp Inc ME bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth $26,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

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.