Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as C$54.63 and last traded at C$54.40, with a volume of 1252849 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$54.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFC has been the topic of several research reports. Desjardins set a C$58.00 target price on Manulife Financial and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Barclays raised their target price on Manulife Financial from C$49.00 to C$52.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Manulife Financial from C$52.00 to C$55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. TD Securities decreased their target price on Manulife Financial from C$60.00 to C$59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Manulife Financial from C$54.00 to C$58.00 in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of C$56.63.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.80, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 2.58. The stock has a market cap of C$90.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average of C$49.30 and a 200 day moving average of C$49.26.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported C$1.12 EPS for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 11.34% and a net margin of 10.91%.The firm had revenue of C$22.03 billion during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 3.6104452 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.33%.

Insider Activity at Manulife Financial

In other Manulife Financial news, Director Adam Thomas Wise sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$46.47, for a total transaction of C$162,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$116,035.59. This trade represents a 58.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

About Manulife Financial

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.