Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.30 EPS

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.30, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $10.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.73 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.26% and a net margin of 9.79%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 EPS.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of Manulife Financial stock traded down $0.50 during trading on Friday, reaching $31.79. 1,458,066 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,286,677. Manulife Financial has a 1 year low of $18.42 and a 1 year high of $32.94. The firm has a market cap of $55.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.39 and its 200 day moving average is $27.06.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $0.296 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on MFC. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $35.67.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.