Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Posted by Brian Himes on Sep 4th, 2026

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC – Free Report) (TSE:MFC) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks reports.

MFC has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $59.00.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on MFC

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Manulife Financial stock opened at $44.56 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.26. Manulife Financial has a 12 month low of $30.49 and a 12 month high of $45.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.63 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC – Get Free Report) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. Manulife Financial’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Manulife Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 2,376 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 179.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $872,000 after purchasing an additional 18,222 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 18.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 56,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after buying an additional 8,900 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the period. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 814.3% in the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $204,544,000 after buying an additional 5,699,999 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

About Manulife Financial

(Get Free Report)

Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational insurance and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in the late 19th century as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life and health insurance, retirement and pension solutions, wealth and asset management, and group benefits.

In wealth and asset management, Manulife operates through Manulife Investment Management and offers mutual funds, segregated funds, institutional asset management, and retirement plan solutions.