Manulife Financial Corp (MFC) - What Are Investment Firms Saying About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analysts rate Manulife a consensus “Buy”: Of seven firms covering the stock, three recommend buying, two rate it a strong buy, and two say hold. The average 12-month price target is $58.75.
• Recent opinions were mixed but mostly positive: RBC raised its target to $67 and rated the stock “outperform,” while Scotiabank downgraded it to “sector perform.”
• Manulife reported quarterly EPS of $0.79, narrowly beating the $0.78 consensus estimate; revenue rose 7.3% year over year.

Shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC have been given a consensus rating of "Buy" by the seven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $58.75.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MFC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. TD Securities reissued 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 note on Thursday, October 8th. Scotiabank cut shares of Manulife Financial from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFC stock opened at $44.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $74.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.73 and a beta of 0.86. Manulife Financial has a 52-week low of $32.55 and a 52-week high of $45.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.68 and a 200-day moving average of $40.04.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS 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 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Manulife Financial will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Manulife Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. First Bancorp Inc ME bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company's stock.

About Manulife Financial

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.

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