Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $43.56 and last traded at $42.4850, with a volume of 1503432 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $43.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MFC. Zacks Research cut Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. 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 restated 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, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 2.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $70.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.86 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $39.98 and its 200-day moving average is $37.77.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 16.58%. The firm had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 56.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Manulife Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MFC. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sfam LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA bought a new stake in Manulife Financial in the first quarter worth about $29,000. 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.