Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Upgraded at Cibc Captl Mkts

Cibc Captl Mkts upgraded shares of Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on MFC. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, December 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Manulife Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.6%

MFC stock opened at $37.39 on Thursday. Manulife Financial has a 1-year low of $25.92 and a 1-year high of $37.58. The business’s 50 day moving average is $35.27 and its 200-day moving average is $32.62. The firm has a market cap of $62.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.10. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 9.81%.The business had revenue of $12.90 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Manulife Financial will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 26th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 55.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Manulife Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Canerector Inc. raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 4,445.8% during the 3rd quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 28,184,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $877,932,000 after purchasing an additional 27,564,000 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $632,238,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised 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 buying an additional 5,699,999 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 25.6% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 27,822,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $866,649,000 after buying an additional 5,671,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 13,155.3% in the third quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 4,229,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,743,000 after buying an additional 4,197,592 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

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.