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

Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$55.63.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Manulife Financial from C$54.00 to C$58.00 in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$49.00 to C$52.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$52.00 to C$55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Desjardins set a C$55.00 target price on Manulife Financial and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, TD Securities cut their target price on 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.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of TSE MFC opened at C$52.98 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.80. The firm has a market cap of C$88.81 billion, a PE ratio of 17.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is C$48.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$48.49. Manulife Financial has a 12-month low of C$38.93 and a 12-month high of C$53.55.

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

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Adam Thomas Wise sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$46.47, for a total transaction of C$162,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$116,035.59. The trade was a 58.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.