TD Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Stock

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) had its price objective lifted by research analysts at TD from C$65.00 to C$67.00 in a report released on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. TD’s price target suggests a potential upside of 6.67% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on MFC. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$61.00 to C$70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. 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 report on Wednesday, July 15th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce boosted their target price on Manulife Financial from C$61.00 to C$69.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. National Bank Financial raised their price target on 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. Finally, Desjardins set a C$58.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$63.00.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.6%

Manulife Financial stock traded up C$0.37 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting C$62.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,135,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,013,620. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is C$58.04 and its 200-day moving average price is C$53.13. Manulife Financial has a 12 month low of C$41.08 and a 12 month high of C$63.58. The company has a market capitalization of C$104.38 billion, a PE ratio of 18.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.71.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported C$1.09 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$20.34 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 11.97% and a return on equity of 12.60%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial will post 3.6104452 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Manulife Financial

In other Manulife Financial news, Director Eileen Cloherty sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$53.45, for a total value of C$347,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$182,371.40. This trade represents a 65.58% decrease in their position. Also, insider Rahul Madhav Joshi sold 25,000 shares of the company’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 directly owned 77,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$4,190,373.65. This represents a 24.47% decrease in their position. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 136,834 shares of company stock worth $7,311,659. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.