Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) have received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is C$55.63.

MFC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Manulife Financial from C$52.00 to C$55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$55.00 to C$56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$49.00 to C$52.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. TD Securities dropped their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$60.00 to C$59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$54.00 to C$58.00 in a research report on Monday, February 2nd.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC stock opened at C$45.90 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.80, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 2.58. Manulife Financial has a 1 year low of C$36.93 and a 1 year high of C$52.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average of C$49.96 and a 200 day moving average of C$47.59. The company has a market cap of C$76.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.95, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.79.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported C$1.12 earnings per share for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 11.34% and a net margin of 10.91%.The business had revenue of C$22.03 billion for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Manulife Financial will post 3.6104452 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 57.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Manulife Financial news, Director Adam Thomas Wise sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$46.47, for a total value of C$162,645.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$116,035.59. This represents a 58.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading international financial services provider that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better by providing financial advice, insurance, and wealth and asset management solutions. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as MFC on the TSX, NYSE, and PSE, and under 945 on the SEHK. Manulife can be found at manulife.com. One of the largest life insurers in the United States, John Hancock supports more than ten million Americans with a broad range of financial products, including life insurance and annuities.