Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Short Interest Down 67.6% in March

Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,780,000 shares, a decline of 67.6% from the February 28th total of 45,620,000 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,200,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.7 days.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock traded down $0.35 on Friday, hitting $30.77. The stock had a trading volume of 2,343,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,211,257. Manulife Financial has a twelve month low of $22.61 and a twelve month high of $33.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $30.14 and a 200 day moving average of $30.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.05.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $9.31 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.08%. Equities analysts expect that Manulife Financial will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.3094 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MFC. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $45.50.

Institutional Trading of Manulife Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FIL Ltd grew its position in Manulife Financial by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 39,610,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,216,880,000 after purchasing an additional 7,053,066 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Manulife Financial by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,803,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,068,654,000 after buying an additional 228,863 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 28,063,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $829,374,000 after buying an additional 3,329,892 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 24,614,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $755,367,000 after acquiring an additional 230,105 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,812,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $699,948,000 after acquiring an additional 902,466 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.