Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) Receives C$56.63 Average Target Price from Analysts

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$56.63.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MFC. 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. TD Securities decreased their target price on Manulife Financial from C$60.00 to C$59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$55.00 to C$56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. National Bank Financial set a C$57.00 price objective on Manulife Financial and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$54.00 to C$58.00 in a research report on Monday, February 2nd.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of TSE MFC opened at C$54.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of C$91.32 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.80. Manulife Financial has a 52-week low of C$41.08 and a 52-week high of C$54.83. The business has a 50-day moving average price of C$49.40 and a 200 day moving average price of C$49.33.

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

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.33%.

Insider Transactions at Manulife Financial

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

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.