Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) Receives C$38.00 Average Target Price from Analysts

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$38.00.

MFC has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore upped their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$36.00 to C$37.00 in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$43.00 to C$42.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “sector perform market weight” rating to an “outperform market weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. National Bankshares upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from C$34.00 to C$38.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, CIBC upped their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$34.00 to C$36.00 in a research report on Friday, May 10th.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.8 %

TSE:MFC opened at C$35.97 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 29.14, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.44. The stock has a market capitalization of C$64.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average is C$35.89 and its 200 day moving average is C$33.37. Manulife Financial has a 12 month low of C$23.69 and a 12 month high of C$37.46.

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

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Philip James Witherington sold 97,640 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$35.17, for a total transaction of C$3,433,852.34. In related news, Senior Officer Steve Finch sold 11,598 shares of Manulife Financial 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. Also, Director Philip James Witherington sold 97,640 shares of Manulife Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$35.17, for a total transaction of C$3,433,852.34. In the last quarter, insiders sold 157,878 shares of company stock valued at $5,557,706. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

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.