Desjardins Has Bearish Forecast for MFC FY2026 Earnings

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC - Equities research analysts at Desjardins lowered their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Manulife Financial in a report released on Tuesday, October 14th. Desjardins analyst D. Young now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings of $3.13 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $3.14. The consensus estimate for Manulife Financial's current full-year earnings is $2.87 per share.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on MFC. Morgan Stanley set a $47.00 price objective on Manulife Financial in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group started coverage on Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $48.00.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

NYSE MFC opened at $31.68 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $31.08 and its 200-day moving average is $30.87. Manulife Financial has a one year low of $25.92 and a one year high of $33.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.98.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 10.46%.During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,336,875 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,440,795,000 after buying an additional 2,003,226 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,093,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,155,639,000 after buying an additional 2,289,205 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 25,155,652 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $803,975,000 after buying an additional 730,187 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $632,238,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,008,595 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $453,798,000 after acquiring an additional 2,276,251 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.3199 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This is a boost from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Manulife Financial's payout ratio is presently 56.70%.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.

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