Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Reaches New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Manulife Financial shares reached a new 52-week high of $44.85, trading above both their 50-day ($40.79) and 200-day ($38.16) moving averages.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $51.50, although Zacks Research downgraded the stock to “strong sell.”
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.485 per share, equivalent to a 4.3% annualized yield; however, its latest quarterly EPS of $0.77 fell short of the $0.79 consensus estimate.

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC's stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $44.85 and last traded at $44.7160, with a volume of 817 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Zacks Research lowered Manulife Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Manulife Financial from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

The company's 50-day moving average is $40.79 and its 200-day moving average is $38.16. The firm has a market cap of $74.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 10.19%.The company had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio is 56.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Canerector Inc. boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 27.0% in the first quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 800,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 170,000 shares during the last quarter. Sfam LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company's stock.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational insurance and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in the late 19th century as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life and health insurance, retirement and pension solutions, wealth and asset management, and group benefits.

In wealth and asset management, Manulife operates through Manulife Investment Management and offers mutual funds, segregated funds, institutional asset management, and retirement plan solutions.

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