Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) saw a large decline in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,210,000 shares, a decline of 60.8% from the August 31st total of 36,220,000 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Dbs Bank raised shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Securities raised their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Manulife Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prudential PLC lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 1,141,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,235,000 after buying an additional 114,213 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 795.2% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 217,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,439,000 after purchasing an additional 193,343 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 4,182,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,867,000 after purchasing an additional 737,203 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 2,913.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 86,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,163,000 after purchasing an additional 83,741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Claret Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 89,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,987,000 after buying an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of MFC stock traded up $0.06 on Wednesday, reaching $29.27. 543,597 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,690,380. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.81 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.08. Manulife Financial has a 52 week low of $17.07 and a 52 week high of $29.35.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $9.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.95 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.16% and a net margin of 9.18%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Manulife Financial will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.44%.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

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.