Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Stock Rating Lowered by Scotiabank

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) was downgraded by analysts at Scotiabank from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, BayStreet reports. They currently have a C$67.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Scotiabank‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 7.17% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Scotia increased their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$61.00 to C$67.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$61.00 to C$70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. TD boosted their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$65.00 to C$67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$56.00 to C$59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$55.00 to C$67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$66.45.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFC traded down C$0.68 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting C$62.52. The stock had a trading volume of 1,961,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,729,945. The company has a market cap of C$103.43 billion, a PE ratio of 16.94, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is C$60.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$55.38. The company has a quick ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.52. Manulife Financial has a fifty-two week low of C$44.23 and a fifty-two week high of C$63.98.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported C$1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 11.62%. The business had revenue of C$20.34 billion for the quarter. On average, equities analysts expect that Manulife Financial will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Patrick David Graham sold 6,843 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$62.06, for a total transaction of C$424,676.58. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading international financial services provider that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better by providing financial advice, insurance, and wealth and asset management solutions. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as MFC on the TSX, NYSE, and PSE, and under 945 on the SEHK. Manulife can be found at manulife.com. One of the largest life insurers in the United States, John Hancock supports more than ten million Americans with a broad range of financial products, including life insurance and annuities.