Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$66.00.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MFC. National Bank Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$59.00 to C$69.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Desjardins upped their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$63.00 to C$68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$56.00 to C$61.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Manulife Financial from C$61.00 to C$70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$67.00 to C$70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

MFC stock opened at C$60.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.52, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market capitalization of C$99.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.71. Manulife Financial has a 1 year low of C$41.22 and a 1 year high of C$63.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average is C$59.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$53.84.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported C$1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$20.34 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 11.62% and a return on equity of 12.98%. On average, research analysts predict that Manulife Financial will post 3.6104452 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Manulife Financial

In other Manulife Financial news, Director Eileen Cloherty sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$53.45, for a total transaction of C$347,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$182,371.40. The trade was a 65.58% decrease in their position. Also, insider Rahul Madhav Joshi sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$54.29, for a total value of C$1,357,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 77,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$4,190,373.65. This trade represents a 24.47% decrease in their position. Insiders have sold 123,343 shares of company stock valued at $6,680,402 in the last quarter. 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.