Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) Stock Has Average Target Price of C$65.91 According to Analysts

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$66.45.

A number of research firms have issued reports on MFC. Scotia lifted their target price on Manulife Financial from C$61.00 to C$67.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank cut shares of Manulife Financial from a “sector outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$67.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$56.00 to C$59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. TD lifted their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$65.00 to C$67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$55.00 to C$67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Manulife Financial news, insider Patrick David Graham sold 6,843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$62.06, for a total value of C$424,676.58. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of MFC opened at C$62.37 on Tuesday. Manulife Financial has a 52-week low of C$44.23 and a 52-week high of C$63.98. The business’s fifty day moving average is C$61.16 and its 200-day moving average is C$55.54. 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 firm has a market cap of C$103.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.59.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported C$1.09 earnings per share for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 11.62%. The business had revenue of C$20.34 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial will post 3.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a $0.4850 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.14%.

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.