Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.30 EPS

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.30, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $10.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.73 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.26% and a net margin of 9.79%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MFC traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $31.79. 1,458,066 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,286,677. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.06. Manulife Financial has a 1 year low of $18.42 and a 1 year high of $32.94. The company has a market cap of $55.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.08.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $0.296 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 56.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $35.67.

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.