Cormark Research Analysts Cut Earnings Estimates for TSE:MFC

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) – Equities researchers at Cormark dropped their FY2025 earnings estimates for Manulife Financial in a note issued to investors on Thursday, May 8th. Cormark analyst L. Persaud now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $4.15 for the year, down from their prior estimate of $4.16. The consensus estimate for Manulife Financial’s current full-year earnings is $3.61 per share.

MFC has been the topic of a number of other reports. CIBC lowered their target price on shares of 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. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$51.00 to C$46.00 in a research report on Monday, April 21st. TD Securities raised their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$48.00 to C$49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a C$51.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$48.00.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.1%

MFC stock opened at C$44.28 on Monday. Manulife Financial has a twelve month low of C$32.87 and a twelve month high of C$46.42. The company’s 50 day moving average is C$42.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$43.22. The stock has a market cap of C$77.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.78, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.06.

Insider Activity at Manulife Financial

In other Manulife Financial news, Director Kenneth Michael Ross sold 3,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$44.91, for a total transaction of C$144,572.68. Also, 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 transaction of C$503,646.63. Insiders have sold a total of 21,298 shares of company stock worth $932,208 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 19th will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.79%.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

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.