TSE:MFC Q4 EPS Forecast Lowered by National Bank Financial

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) – Equities research analysts at National Bank Financial dropped their Q4 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Manulife Financial in a research report issued on Wednesday, May 7th. National Bank Financial analyst G. Dechaine now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $1.07 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.10. The consensus estimate for Manulife Financial’s current full-year earnings is $3.61 per share.

MFC has been the topic of several other research reports. CIBC lowered their price target on Manulife Financial from C$48.00 to C$46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Manulife Financial from C$51.00 to C$46.00 in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada set a C$51.00 price target on Manulife Financial and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays lowered their price target on Manulife Financial from C$49.00 to C$45.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on Manulife Financial from C$53.00 to C$50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued 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 “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$48.00.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 3.1%

TSE:MFC opened at C$44.22 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of C$77.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.06. Manulife Financial has a twelve month low of C$32.87 and a twelve month high of C$46.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is C$42.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$43.20.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.79%.

Insider Activity at Manulife Financial

In related news, Senior Officer Steve Finch sold 11,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$43.43, for a total value of C$503,646.63. Also, Director Brooks Tingle sold 3,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$43.43, for a total value of C$167,882.21. Insiders sold 18,683 shares of company stock worth $816,102 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife provides life insurance and wealth management products and services to individuals and group customers in Canada, the United States, and Asia. Manulife is one of Canada’s Big Three Life Insurance companies (the other two are Sun Life and Great West Life). As of Dec. 31, 2021, Manulife reported assets under management or administration of about CAD $1.4 trillion.