Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Stock Short Interest Drops 50.4%

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 7,716,304 shares, a decrease of 50.4% from the August 31st total of 15,552,561 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,003,481 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days. Currently, 0.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on MFC shares. Weiss Ratings raised Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research upgraded Manulife Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFC stock traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $43.12. The company had a trading volume of 60,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,224,630. Manulife Financial has a 1-year low of $30.75 and a 1-year high of $45.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $43.72 and a 200 day moving average of $40.27. The firm has a market cap of $71.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. Manulife Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Manulife Financial will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were given a dividend of C$0.48 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.49%.

Institutional Trading of Manulife Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MFC. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the second quarter worth about $26,000. First Bancorp Inc ME bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation is a Canadian financial services company that provides insurance, wealth and asset management, retirement solutions and employee benefits. Its offerings include life and health insurance, annuities, group benefits, mutual funds, pension products and investment management services for individuals, businesses and institutional clients.

Founded in 1887 as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife has grown into an international organization serving customers primarily in Canada, the United States and Asia.