Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Short Interest Update

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 7,716,304 shares, a decline of 50.4% from the August 31st total of 15,552,561 shares. Approximately 0.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,003,481 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Manulife Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MFC. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 8,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.4% during the second quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.1% in the first quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 27,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $954,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.4% in the first quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

MFC traded down $0.80 on Wednesday, reaching $42.62. 1,180,439 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,225,742. Manulife Financial has a twelve month low of $30.92 and a twelve month high of $45.33. The company’s 50 day moving average is $43.73 and its 200-day moving average is $40.40. The company has a market cap of $70.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 9.99%.The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Manulife Financial will post 3 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a dividend of C$0.48 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MFC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded Manulife Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.00.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation is a Canadian financial services company that provides insurance, wealth and asset management, retirement solutions and employee benefits. Its offerings include life and health insurance, annuities, group benefits, mutual funds, pension products and investment management services for individuals, businesses and institutional clients.

Founded in 1887 as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife has grown into an international organization serving customers primarily in Canada, the United States and Asia.