Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from C$42.00 to C$47.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Manulife Financial traded as high as C$42.05 and last traded at C$41.80, with a volume of 3156373 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$41.82.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. National Bankshares lifted their price target on Manulife Financial from C$38.00 to C$43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Manulife Financial from C$40.00 to C$41.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Dbs Bank upgraded Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays set a C$39.00 price target on Manulife Financial and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Manulife Financial from C$38.00 to C$39.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Manulife Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$39.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Manulife Financial news, Director Matthew Lyman Macinnis sold 6,708 shares of Manulife Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$34.67, for a total transaction of C$232,566.36. In other news, Director Rocco Gori sold 48,345 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$35.73, for a total value of C$1,727,395.86. Also, Director Matthew Lyman Macinnis sold 6,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$34.67, for a total value of C$232,566.36. Insiders sold a total of 68,821 shares of company stock valued at $2,455,596 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.60, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 36.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of C$38.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$35.99. The company has a market cap of C$74.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.06.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported C$0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.88 by C$0.03. The company had revenue of C$12.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$12.27 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 10.41% and a net margin of 17.34%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 3.6104452 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 68.09%.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

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.