Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Receives $51.50 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) have received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.50.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MFC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, December 15th.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $33.62 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.87 and a 200 day moving average of $34.63. The company has a market capitalization of $56.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.83. Manulife Financial has a 52 week low of $25.92 and a 52 week high of $38.72.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $11.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.43% and a net margin of 9.18%.During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Manulife Financial will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.96%.

Institutional Trading of Manulife Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Manulife Financial by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 179.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $872,000 after acquiring an additional 18,222 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 18.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 56,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,757,000 after acquiring an additional 8,900 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 13.1% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 814.3% during the second quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $204,544,000 after acquiring an additional 5,699,999 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational insurance and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in the late 19th century as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life and health insurance, retirement and pension solutions, wealth and asset management, and group benefits.

In wealth and asset management, Manulife operates through Manulife Investment Management and offers mutual funds, segregated funds, institutional asset management, and retirement plan solutions.