Manulife Financial’s (MFC) Buy (A-) Rating Reaffirmed at Weiss Ratings

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC)‘s stock had its “buy (a-)” rating reiterated by stock analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report released on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

MFC has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $32.58 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.98. Manulife Financial has a 52-week low of $25.92 and a 52-week high of $33.07. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Manulife Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Manulife Financial by 2.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,336,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,440,795,000 after buying an additional 2,003,226 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 6.6% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,093,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,155,639,000 after purchasing an additional 2,289,205 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 3.0% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 25,155,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $803,975,000 after purchasing an additional 730,187 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the second quarter worth $632,238,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 19.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,008,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $453,798,000 after purchasing an additional 2,276,251 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.