Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $45.95 and last traded at $45.3120, with a volume of 87,950 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MFC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $58.75.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.08 and a beta of 0.86.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. The company 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%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Manulife Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 25.6% during the third quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 48.5% during the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 28,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,201,000 after acquiring an additional 9,209 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 6.6% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,090,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.8% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 140,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,963,000 after purchasing an additional 7,710 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation is a Canadian financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1887 as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife has grown into a diversified provider of insurance, wealth and asset management, and retirement solutions. Its common shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MFC.

Manulife offers life, health, and property and casualty insurance, along with retirement products, investment solutions, financial advice, and institutional asset management services.