Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Posts Earnings Results

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.06, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.67 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.16 EPS.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 4.5%

MFC stock traded down $2.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $43.93. 2,254,523 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,131,971. Manulife Financial has a 52-week low of $32.58 and a 52-week high of $46.19. The company has a market cap of $72.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $43.74 and its 200-day moving average is $40.09.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of C$0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MFC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank cut Manulife Financial from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised Manulife Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.75.

Manulife Financial News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Manulife Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Manulife reported Q3 earnings of $0.89 per share, above the $0.83 analyst consensus, and revenue of $8.78 billion versus estimates of $7.67 billion. Coverage also highlighted a 4% increase in core earnings, giving investors evidence of underlying growth. Zacks Q3 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.48 per share, with payment scheduled for December 21 to shareholders of record November 20. The payout supports MFC’s appeal to income-focused investors.
• Neutral Sentiment: A tranche update was issued for Manulife’s buyback plan announced in February. The supplied report does not state the amount repurchased, limiting insight into the immediate impact. Buyback tranche update
• Negative Sentiment: Reports differed on the year-over-year direction of net profit: one said net earnings rose 6%, while another reported profit fell 22%. That mixed bottom-line picture may offset some of the positive signal from the earnings beat and core growth. Report on Q3 profit and core earnings

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation is a Canadian financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1887 as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife has grown into a diversified provider of insurance, wealth and asset management, and retirement solutions. Its common shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MFC.

Manulife offers life, health, and property and casualty insurance, along with retirement products, investment solutions, financial advice, and institutional asset management services.