Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on MFC. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC stock opened at $44.56 on Wednesday. Manulife Financial has a 1-year low of $30.49 and a 1-year high of $45.33. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.26. The company has a market capitalization of $73.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Manulife Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Bancorp Inc ME acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational insurance and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in the late 19th century as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life and health insurance, retirement and pension solutions, wealth and asset management, and group benefits.

In wealth and asset management, Manulife operates through Manulife Investment Management and offers mutual funds, segregated funds, institutional asset management, and retirement plan solutions.