Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$51.25.

MFC has been the subject of several recent research reports. National Bankshares upped their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$47.00 to C$52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Desjardins set a C$55.00 target price on Manulife Financial and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. TD Securities boosted their target price on Manulife Financial from C$54.00 to C$57.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. CIBC upped their price target on Manulife Financial from C$49.00 to C$50.00 in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$49.00 to C$52.00 in a research note on Friday, November 14th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Rahim Hirji sold 25,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$48.25, for a total transaction of C$1,208,566.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 31,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$1,510,948.75. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. Also, insider Shamus Edward Weiland sold 88,500 shares of Manulife Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$48.95, for a total value of C$4,332,075.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 53,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$2,618,580.25. This represents a 62.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of TSE MFC opened at C$50.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of C$84.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.94. Manulife Financial has a 1 year low of C$36.93 and a 1 year high of C$50.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is C$48.16 and its 200-day moving average is C$44.73.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The financial services provider reported C$1.16 earnings per share for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 11.75%. The business had revenue of C$26.23 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial will post 3.6104452 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife provides life insurance and wealth management products and services to individuals and group customers in Canada, the United States, and Asia. Manulife is one of Canada’s Big Three Life Insurance companies (the other two are Sun Life and Great West Life). As of Dec. 31, 2021, Manulife reported assets under management or administration of about CAD $1.4 trillion.