Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Announces Earnings Results

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) released its 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 firm had revenue of $10.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.73 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 16.26%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:MFC traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $31.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,458,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,286,677. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.06. The firm has a market cap of $55.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.08. Manulife Financial has a 52 week low of $18.42 and a 52 week high of $32.94.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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