Scotiabank Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Stock

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) had its price objective lifted by analysts at Scotiabank from C$55.00 to C$56.00 in a research note issued on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Scotiabank’s target price indicates a potential upside of 12.34% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from C$50.00 to C$58.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. National Bank Financial boosted their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$47.00 to C$52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a C$52.00 price target on shares of Manulife Financial and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Manulife Financial from C$49.00 to C$52.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$55.63.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 2.4%

MFC traded up C$1.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching C$49.85. 2,021,024 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,620,059. Manulife Financial has a 52-week low of C$36.93 and a 52-week high of C$52.97. The company’s fifty day moving average price is C$50.61 and its 200-day moving average price is C$46.64. The stock has a market capitalization of C$83.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.99.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported C$1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$22.03 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 11.75%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Manulife Financial will post 3.6104452 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Manulife Financial news, insider Shamus Edward Weiland sold 88,500 shares of Manulife Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$48.95, for a total value of C$4,332,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 53,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$2,618,580.25. The trade was a 62.33% decrease in their position. Also, insider Rahim Hirji sold 25,048 shares of Manulife Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$48.25, for a total value of C$1,208,566.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 31,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$1,510,948.75. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife provides life insurance and wealth management products and services to individuals and group customers in Canada, the United States, and Asia. Manulife is one of Canada’s Big Three Life Insurance companies (the other two are Sun Life and Great West Life). As of Dec. 31, 2021, Manulife reported assets under management or administration of about CAD $1.4 trillion.