Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC – Get Rating) (TSE:MFC) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,040,000 shares, a decrease of 27.9% from the May 31st total of 16,700,000 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 4,630,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.
Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MFC shares. BMO Capital Markets cut Manulife Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 12th. StockNews.com cut Manulife Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 17th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Manulife Financial from C$28.00 to C$27.00 in a research note on Friday, May 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut Manulife Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 13th. Finally, Desjardins cut Manulife Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.44.
Shares of NYSE:MFC traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $17.52. 2,085,995 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,691,587. The company has a market cap of $33.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.20. Manulife Financial has a one year low of $16.27 and a one year high of $22.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $18.10 and a 200 day moving average of $19.59.
Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC – Get Rating) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $11.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.82 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 25th were issued a dividend of $0.257 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.87%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 24th. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 27.69%.
Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $362,442,000. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $99,316,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 505.2% in the fourth quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 4,177,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,682,000 after acquiring an additional 3,487,180 shares during the period. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 12.5% in the first quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 25,986,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,414,000 after acquiring an additional 2,891,888 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the first quarter valued at about $52,082,000. 47.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Manulife Financial (Get Rating)
Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in Asia, Canada, the United States, 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 provides mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, group retirement and savings products, and institutional asset management services through agents and brokers affiliated with the company, securities brokerage firms, and financial advisors pension plan consultants and banks.