Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Short Interest Update

Posted by Francis Steltz on Aug 15th, 2026

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC – Get Free Report) (TSE:MFC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 13,067,775 shares, an increase of 147.3% from the July 15th total of 5,285,069 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,717,506 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $59.00.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

MFC traded up $0.54 during trading on Friday, reaching $44.45. 967,139 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,257,037. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $42.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.71. Manulife Financial has a twelve month low of $29.70 and a twelve month high of $45.33. The stock has a market cap of $73.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.59 and a beta of 0.84.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Manulife Financial will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,016,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $145,709,000 after buying an additional 363,963 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 1,092.1% in the 4th quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 51,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,873,000 after acquiring an additional 47,301 shares during the period. Canerector Inc. lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 27.0% during the first quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 800,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 170,000 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 25.7% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 5,645,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $194,191,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 183.7% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 11,702,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $402,969,000 after acquiring an additional 7,577,711 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

(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.