Royal Bank Of Canada Increases Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Price Target to C$55.00

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from C$52.00 to C$55.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price suggests a potential upside of 9.85% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Scotiabank raised their price target on Manulife Financial from C$55.00 to C$56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from C$50.00 to C$58.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$60.00 to C$59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Desjardins set a C$55.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, National Bank Financial boosted their price target on Manulife Financial from C$47.00 to C$52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of C$55.63.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFC opened at C$50.07 on Friday. Manulife Financial has a 1 year low of C$36.93 and a 1 year high of C$52.97. The stock has a market capitalization of C$83.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.05, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of C$50.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$46.71.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported C$1.12 earnings per share for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 11.75%. The firm had revenue of C$22.03 billion for the quarter. Analysts predict that Manulife Financial will post 3.6104452 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Manulife Financial

In other news, insider Shamus Edward Weiland sold 88,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$48.95, for a total value of C$4,332,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 53,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$2,618,580.25. This represents a 62.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Rahim Hirji sold 25,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$48.25, for a total transaction of C$1,208,566.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 31,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$1,510,948.75. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife provides life insurance and wealth management products and services to individuals and group customers in Canada, the United States, and Asia. Manulife is one of Canada’s Big Three Life Insurance companies (the other two are Sun Life and Great West Life). As of Dec. 31, 2021, Manulife reported assets under management or administration of about CAD $1.4 trillion.