Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) Stock Rated “Buy” by Wall Street Analysts

Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) have received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the twelve analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$66.00.

MFC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Manulife Financial from C$56.00 to C$61.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$56.00 to C$59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Desjardins boosted their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$63.00 to C$68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. National Bank Financial increased their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$59.00 to C$69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$55.00 to C$67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFC stock opened at C$59.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.52, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market capitalization of C$99.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.59. Manulife Financial has a one year low of C$44.16 and a one year high of C$63.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of C$60.89 and a 200 day moving average price of C$56.83.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported C$1.09 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$20.34 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 11.62% and a return on equity of 12.98%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial will post 3.6104452 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a dividend of $0.4850 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 50.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Manulife Financial

In other news, insider Patrick David Graham sold 6,843 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$62.06, for a total value of C$424,676.58. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

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.