Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Issues Earnings Results

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.26), Zacks reports. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 16.11%.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of MFC traded down $0.40 on Wednesday, hitting $37.87. 1,346,125 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,819,554. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $36.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.63. Manulife Financial has a 1 year low of $25.92 and a 1 year high of $38.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.83 and a beta of 0.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 2,376 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares during the period. Equitable Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 12,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. ICONIQ Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 20.0% during the second quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 13,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 2,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 31.4% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 3,778 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Manulife Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting Manulife Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board raised the quarterly common dividend by 10.2% to $0.485/share, boosting yield and signaling confidence in capital generation. Manulife increases common shareholders’ dividend by 10.2%
• Positive Sentiment: Announced intention to launch a Normal Course Issuer Bid to repurchase up to ~42 million shares (~2.5% of outstanding), which could be EPS-accretive if executed. Manulife announces intention to launch Normal Course Issuer Bid
• Positive Sentiment: Reported record core earnings ($7.5B for 2025) and strong insurance new business — positive for long?term earnings power despite the reported EPS shortfall. Manulife Reports Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Received a clean audit opinion on 2025 IFRS financial statements, reducing accounting uncertainty. Manulife Receives Clean Audit Opinion on 2025 IFRS Financial Statements
• Positive Sentiment: Declared regular preferred-share dividends across multiple series, indicating stable capital allocation to preferred holders. Manulife declares preferred share dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Full quarterly slide deck and results package are available for drill-down on segments and reconciliations (useful for assessing core vs reported differences). View Slide Deck
• Negative Sentiment: Reported EPS of $0.80 missed consensus of $1.06, which likely drove the near-term share weakness as markets focus on reported earnings rather than core metrics. View Slide Deck
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters highlighted a decline in quarterly profit driven by weakness in the North America segment — a regional drag that could pressure near-term earnings and revisions. Canada’s Manulife posts lower quarterly profit on North America weakness

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings raised Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.