Manulife Financial (MFC) Competitors

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) and Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) are both large-cap insurance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, media sentiment, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of L or MFC?

20.7% of Loblaw Companies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.2% of Manulife Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 53.8% of Loblaw Companies shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Manulife Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor L or MFC?

In the previous week, Loblaw Companies had 11 more articles in the media than Manulife Financial. MarketBeat recorded 13 mentions for Loblaw Companies and 2 mentions for Manulife Financial. Manulife Financial's average media sentiment score of 0.40 beat Loblaw Companies' score of 0.07 indicating that Manulife Financial is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Loblaw Companies	2 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Manulife Financial	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts recommend L or MFC?

Loblaw Companies currently has a consensus price target of C$199.25, suggesting a potential upside of 257.46%. Manulife Financial has a consensus price target of C$47.75, suggesting a potential upside of 14.70%. Given Loblaw Companies' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Loblaw Companies is more favorable than Manulife Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Loblaw Companies	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75
Manulife Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.71

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, L or MFC?

Manulife Financial has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Loblaw Companies. Loblaw Companies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Manulife Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Loblaw Companies	C$60.23B	0.28	C$2.23B	C$7.37	7.57
Manulife Financial	C$45.06B	1.62	C$5.64B	C$3.21	12.95

Is L or MFC more profitable?

Manulife Financial has a net margin of 12.52% compared to Loblaw Companies' net margin of 3.71%. Loblaw Companies' return on equity of 19.90% beat Manulife Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Loblaw Companies	3.71%	19.90%	5.89%
Manulife Financial	12.52%	11.75%	0.55%

Which has more risk & volatility, L or MFC?

Loblaw Companies has a beta of 0.17, indicating that its share price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Manulife Financial has a beta of 1.06, indicating that its share price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is L or MFC a better dividend stock?

Loblaw Companies pays an annual dividend of C$2.05 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Manulife Financial pays an annual dividend of C$1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Loblaw Companies pays out 27.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Manulife Financial pays out 49.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Summary

Loblaw Companies beats Manulife Financial on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.