Scotiabank Boosts Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Price Target to C$55.00

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) had its price objective lifted by Scotiabank from C$53.00 to C$55.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Scotiabank’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 5.83% from the company’s current price.

MFC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Desjardins set a C$55.00 price objective on Manulife Financial and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays increased their target price on Manulife Financial from C$49.00 to C$52.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. TD Securities lifted their price target on Manulife Financial from C$57.00 to C$60.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from C$50.00 to C$58.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a C$52.00 price objective on Manulife Financial and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of C$55.25.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFC opened at C$51.97 on Thursday. Manulife Financial has a 1 year low of C$36.93 and a 1 year high of C$52.97. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of C$50.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$46.41. The firm has a market cap of C$87.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.99.

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 for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 11.75%. The firm had revenue of C$26.23 billion during the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial will post 3.6104452 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Shamus Edward Weiland sold 88,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 53,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$2,618,580.25. This trade represents a 62.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Rahim Hirji sold 25,048 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 31,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$1,510,948.75. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.