Desjardins Reduces Earnings Estimates for Manulife Financial

Key Points

• Desjardins has reduced its earnings estimates for Manulife Financial for FY2025 to $2.90 per share, down from the previous estimate of $2.92.
• Manulife Financial's recent quarterly results showed a missing consensus estimate with earnings of $0.69 per share compared to the expected $0.71, highlighting a drop from $0.91 in the same quarter last year.
• Despite the revisions, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (a-)" rating for the stock, which has a current average price target of $48.00.

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC - Research analysts at Desjardins decreased their FY2025 earnings estimates for shares of Manulife Financial in a research report issued on Tuesday, October 14th. Desjardins analyst D. Young now anticipates that the financial services provider will earn $2.90 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $2.92. The consensus estimate for Manulife Financial's current full-year earnings is $2.87 per share. Desjardins also issued estimates for Manulife Financial's FY2027 earnings at $3.42 EPS.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 15.77%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share.

MFC has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $47.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $48.00.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.6%

Manulife Financial stock opened at $32.15 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $54.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.98. Manulife Financial has a twelve month low of $25.92 and a twelve month high of $33.07. The company's 50-day moving average price is $31.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.87.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Eastern Bank boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 156.1% in the second quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 968 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a $0.3199 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. Manulife Financial's payout ratio is 56.70%.

About Manulife Financial

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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