Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Announces Earnings Results

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.30, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $10.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.73 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.26% and a net margin of 9.79%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFC traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $31.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,458,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,286,677. Manulife Financial has a 52 week low of $18.42 and a 52 week high of $32.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s fifty day moving average is $29.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.06.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.296 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MFC shares. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.67.

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.