Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC saw a significant drop in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,790,000 shares, a drop of 45.2% from the September 15th total of 14,210,000 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,050,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days.
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MFC. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 73.6% during the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 77.2% in the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
NYSE MFC traded up $0.30 on Friday, reaching $30.40. 1,006,363 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,653,510. Manulife Financial has a 12 month low of $17.07 and a 12 month high of $30.52. The company has a market cap of $53.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $27.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.13.
Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.27. The firm 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 in the previous year, the company posted $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.05%.
MFC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set an "equal weight" rating for the company. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Manulife Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $35.67.
View Our Latest Report on 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.
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