Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) Receives C$37.50 Average Target Price from Analysts

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$37.50.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MFC shares. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$38.00 to C$40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. National Bank Financial raised Manulife Financial from a “sector perform market weight” rating to an “outperform market weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$40.00 to C$41.00 in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Evercore increased their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$36.00 to C$37.00 in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, National Bankshares raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from C$34.00 to C$38.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 9th.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at C$36.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$65.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.10, a PEG ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of C$34.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$32.43. Manulife Financial has a 12 month low of C$23.69 and a 12 month high of C$36.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.44, a current ratio of 29.14 and a quick ratio of 2.58.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported C$0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.90 by C$0.04. The business had revenue of C$12.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$12.13 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 18.29% and a return on equity of 10.48%. As a group, analysts predict that Manulife Financial will post 3.6078629 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.37%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Manulife Financial

In related news, Senior Officer Steve Finch sold 11,598 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$35.29, for a total transaction of C$409,293.42. In other Manulife Financial news, Senior Officer Steve Finch sold 11,598 shares of Manulife Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$35.29, for a total value of C$409,293.42. Also, Director Philip James Witherington sold 97,640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$35.17, for a total value of C$3,433,852.34. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 157,878 shares of company stock worth $5,557,706. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.