Manulife Financial Co. (MFC) To Go Ex-Dividend on November 20th

Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 6th,Zacks Dividends reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of 0.296 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29.

Manulife Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 9.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 11 years. Manulife Financial has a payout ratio of 40.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Manulife Financial to earn $2.96 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.18 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 39.9%.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFC traded down $0.48 on Friday, reaching $31.81. The stock had a trading volume of 311,886 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,530,891. Manulife Financial has a 12-month low of $18.42 and a 12-month high of $32.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.96.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.27. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.16%. The firm had revenue of $9.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Manulife Financial will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on MFC shares. Dbs Bank upgraded Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.