Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) Receives C$58.78 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the ten brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$62.00.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MFC. TD boosted their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$58.00 to C$65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Scotiabank increased their target price on Manulife Financial from C$56.00 to C$61.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. National Bank Financial increased their target price on Manulife Financial from C$59.00 to C$69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce boosted their price target on Manulife Financial from C$61.00 to C$69.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$61.00 to C$70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Manulife Financial

In related news, insider Rahul Madhav Joshi sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$54.29, for a total transaction of C$1,357,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 77,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$4,190,373.65. This trade represents a 24.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director Anthony Alex Silva sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$53.17, for a total transaction of C$58,487.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$376,177.75. This represents a 13.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. In the last three months, insiders sold 136,834 shares of company stock worth $7,311,659. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

TSE MFC opened at C$61.56 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of C$56.55 and a 200-day moving average of C$52.50. The stock has a market cap of C$102.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.71. Manulife Financial has a 52-week low of C$41.08 and a 52-week high of C$61.67.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported C$1.06 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$2.15 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 11.97% and a return on equity of 12.60%. As a group, analysts predict that Manulife Financial will post 3.6104452 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.