Manulife Financial Co. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.29 (NYSE:MFC)

Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 8th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of 0.29 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, June 19th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st.

Manulife Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 9.2% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 2 years. Manulife Financial has a payout ratio of 40.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Manulife Financial to earn $2.93 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.18 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 40.3%.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:MFC traded up $0.33 on Friday, hitting $26.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,043,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,180,274. Manulife Financial has a one year low of $17.07 and a one year high of $26.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.08.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $10.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.42%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial will post 2.7 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MFC shares. Desjardins upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.33.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.