Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04, Zacks reports. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.44% and a net margin of 9.18%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 2.0%

MFC traded up $0.72 during trading on Friday, hitting $36.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 496,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,878,793. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45 and a beta of 0.83. Manulife Financial has a twelve month low of $25.92 and a twelve month high of $38.72.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 55.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MFC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Manulife Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Manulife Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MFC. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,329,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,394,000 after acquiring an additional 399,945 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $851,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 149.1% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 23,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $855,000 after buying an additional 14,103 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 27,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $987,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 432,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,703,000 after buying an additional 16,506 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

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.