Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totaling 10,937,480 shares, an increase of 144.4% from the April 15th total of 4,475,943 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,942,688 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.6 days. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Manulife Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. Hoge Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Hoge Financial Services LLC now owns 31,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. increased its position in Manulife Financial by 3.3% in the first quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 8,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 14,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 59,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Finally, Midwest Professional Planners LTD. boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 27,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $954,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFC traded up $0.08 on Friday, hitting $37.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,069,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,269,729. The company has a market capitalization of $62.90 billion, a PE ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 0.87. Manulife Financial has a fifty-two week low of $29.70 and a fifty-two week high of $40.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $36.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.01.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 16.70%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Manulife Financial will post 3.22 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 63.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on MFC shares. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.50.

About Manulife Financial

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.