Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.30 Per Share

Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 6th,Zacks Dividends reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of 0.296 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29.

Manulife Financial has increased its dividend payment by an average of 9.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 11 years. Manulife Financial has a payout ratio of 40.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Manulife Financial to earn $2.96 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.18 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 39.9%.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFC stock traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $31.75. 224,901 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,530,074. Manulife Financial has a 1 year low of $18.42 and a 1 year high of $32.94. The company has a market cap of $55.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50 day moving average is $29.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.96.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.27. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.16% and a net margin of 9.18%. The company had revenue of $9.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Manulife Financial will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MFC. Barclays started coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Dbs Bank raised shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $35.67.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

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.