Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Stock Short Interest Drops 50.4%

Key Points

• Short interest fell 50.4% to 7.72 million shares as of September 15, representing 0.5% of outstanding shares and a short-interest ratio of 3.9 days.
• Manulife shares traded at $43.12, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.79, slightly above estimates, and 7.3% year-over-year revenue growth. It also paid a quarterly dividend of C$0.48, yielding approximately 4.5% annually.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $59.00; institutional investors own 52.56% of the stock.

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 7,716,304 shares, a drop of 50.4% from the August 31st total of 15,552,561 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,003,481 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days. Currently, 0.5% of the company's stock are short sold.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Manulife Financial stock traded down $0.38 on Tuesday, hitting $43.12. 60,789 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,224,630. The company has a market cap of $71.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.13 and a beta of 0.83. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $43.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.27. Manulife Financial has a 52 week low of $30.75 and a 52 week high of $45.33.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 9.99%.The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. Manulife Financial's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a C$0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial's payout ratio is presently 51.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MFC. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (a)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research raised Manulife Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $59.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 8,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,432 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 27,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $954,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.4% in the first quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,192 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,037 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation is a Canadian financial services company that provides insurance, wealth and asset management, retirement solutions and employee benefits. Its offerings include life and health insurance, annuities, group benefits, mutual funds, pension products and investment management services for individuals, businesses and institutional clients.

Founded in 1887 as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife has grown into an international organization serving customers primarily in Canada, the United States and Asia.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.