Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Receives $51.50 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $51.50.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MFC shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, December 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Sfam LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

NYSE MFC opened at $34.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $57.68 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $35.95 and a 200-day moving average of $34.58. Manulife Financial has a 52-week low of $25.92 and a 52-week high of $38.72.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $11.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Manulife Financial will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a $0.485 dividend. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.96%.

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.