Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after TD Securities raised their price target on the stock from C$57.00 to C$60.00. The company traded as high as C$52.39 and last traded at C$52.23, with a volume of 1138740 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$51.79.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Cibc Captl Mkts upgraded Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Desjardins set a C$55.00 price objective on shares of Manulife Financial and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$49.00 to C$52.00 in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$49.00 to C$52.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, National Bankshares raised their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$47.00 to C$52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of C$53.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Manulife Financial news, insider Rahim Hirji sold 25,048 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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 on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 62.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is C$49.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$45.45. The company has a market capitalization of C$87.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.01.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 12th. The financial services provider reported C$1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 11.75%. The company had revenue of C$26.23 billion for the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 3.6104452 EPS 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.