Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Upgraded to Outperform at CIBC

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) was upgraded by stock analysts at CIBC from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage presently has a C$58.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of C$50.00. CIBC’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 12.91% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$49.00 to C$52.00 in a report on Friday, November 14th. Desjardins set a C$55.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays raised their price target on Manulife Financial from C$47.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group upgraded Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, National Bankshares raised their target price on Manulife Financial from C$47.00 to C$52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Manulife Financial presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of C$52.25.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of TSE:MFC traded up C$0.66 on Thursday, hitting C$51.37. 1,979,086 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,303,516. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of C$48.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$45.06. The company has a market cap of C$86.37 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.01. Manulife Financial has a 52 week low of C$36.93 and a 52 week high of C$51.80.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 12th. The financial services provider reported C$1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$26.23 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 11.75% and a net margin of 12.52%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial will post 3.6104452 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Manulife Financial Company Profile

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.