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

Shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $51.50.

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. Canerector Inc. boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 4,445.8% in the third quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 28,184,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $877,932,000 after acquiring an additional 27,564,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $777,229,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 183.7% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 11,702,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $402,969,000 after purchasing an additional 7,577,711 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 814.3% during the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,544,000 after purchasing an additional 5,699,999 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 25.6% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 27,822,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $866,649,000 after purchasing an additional 5,671,639 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $40.73 on Thursday. Manulife Financial has a 52-week low of $29.70 and a 52-week high of $41.43. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 10.19%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 56.75%.

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.