Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

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

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MFC shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Manulife Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sfam LLC purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Heritage Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

NYSE:MFC opened at $40.04 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $36.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.92. The company has a market capitalization of $66.95 billion, a PE ratio of 18.03 and a beta of 0.87. Manulife Financial has a 1-year low of $29.70 and a 1-year high of $40.31.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued 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 company had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.43%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial will post 3.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Manulife Financial

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.