Royal Bank Of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Stock Price

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) had its target price raised by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from C$52.00 to C$55.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 10.33% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on MFC. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Manulife Financial from C$55.00 to C$56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from C$50.00 to C$58.00 in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$54.00 to C$58.00 in a report on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group raised shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Desjardins set a C$55.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of C$55.63.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of MFC traded up C$1.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching C$49.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,021,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,620,059. The company has a 50 day moving average of C$50.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$46.64. The firm has a market cap of C$83.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.99. Manulife Financial has a 1-year low of C$36.93 and a 1-year high of C$52.97.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported C$1.12 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$22.03 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 11.75%. As a group, analysts forecast that Manulife Financial will post 3.6104452 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Manulife Financial

In other Manulife Financial news, insider Shamus Edward Weiland sold 88,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$48.95, for a total transaction of C$4,332,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 53,495 shares in the company, valued at C$2,618,580.25. This represents a 62.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Rahim Hirji sold 25,048 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$48.25, for a total value of C$1,208,566.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$1,510,948.75. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.