Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Price Target Raised to C$56.00

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) had its target price increased by Scotiabank from C$55.00 to C$56.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on MFC. UBS Group upgraded shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Desjardins set a C$55.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. National Bank Financial upped their target price on Manulife Financial from C$47.00 to C$52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. TD Securities dropped their price target on Manulife Financial from C$60.00 to C$59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from C$50.00 to C$58.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One investment analyst has 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 presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of C$55.63.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of TSE:MFC opened at C$50.07 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is C$50.63 and its 200 day moving average is C$46.74. Manulife Financial has a 12-month low of C$36.93 and a 12-month high of C$52.97. The stock has a market cap of C$83.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.99.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported C$1.12 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$22.03 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 11.75% and a net margin of 12.52%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Manulife Financial will post 3.6104452 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction, the insider owned 31,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$1,510,948.75. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. Also, insider Shamus Edward Weiland sold 88,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider owned 53,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$2,618,580.25. The trade was a 62.33% decrease in their position. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

About Manulife Financial

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.