Manulife Financial Co. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.29 (NYSE:MFC)

Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 7th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a dividend of 0.29 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, September 19th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st.

Manulife Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 9.2% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 11 years. Manulife Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 39.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Manulife Financial to earn $2.94 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.17 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 39.8%.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE MFC opened at $26.31 on Tuesday. Manulife Financial has a 1-year low of $17.07 and a 1-year high of $27.51. The firm has a market cap of $47.09 billion, a PE ratio of 15.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $25.98 and a 200-day moving average of $24.94.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.27. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 9.28%. The company had revenue of $9.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MFC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Securities upped their target price on Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Manulife Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.67.

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.