Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.30 EPS

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.30, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $10.69 billion during 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 in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE MFC traded down $0.50 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 stock has a market capitalization of $55.92 billion, a P/E 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 200 day moving average is $27.06. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors 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 represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 56.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MFC. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Dbs Bank raised Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.