Manulife Financial (MFC.TO) Buy, Sell or Hold

Manulife Financial (MFC.TO)

61.50

-0.03 (0.05%)

as of Sep 24, 2026, 8:00:00 pm Market Open.

1632 watching

BUY

Insanely cheap. Under 8x earnings. Dividend yield 5%. Improved capital ratio dramatically. Lifecos benefit a bit more from rising rates, and they're all trying to reduce their sensitivity to rates by diversifying into wealth management.

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PAST TOP PICK

(A Top Pick Dec 03/20, Up 13%) Interest rate sensitivity has been dialed down since the financial crisis, but it's still there. Especially likes the excellent wealth and asset business, as well as exposure to the Asian EM consumer. Undemanding valuation at 7-8x earnings, yield of about 4%. Major discount to banks and peers. Good upside and re-rating potential.

WEAK BUY

It has not been performing well in the last few months but is a stable trade going forward. He likes their exposure in Asia.

BUY

Has disappointed a lot of people for a while. The valuation is silly, trading at 6x whereas Sunlife is at 10x. There is still tail risk with variable annuities. Operationally, they are doing well with good growth in Asia. 9-10% EPS growth trading at 6.6x. Comfortable owning it. Thinks it will work at these levels.

COMMENT

They have grown a franchise in Asia, and there's more upside there in life insurance whereas North America is saturated. MFC has had historic issues in investing, which has kept him away. The accounting can be complex in this business. He owns no lifecos.

HOLD

It has been a weaker performer and it comes down to the John Hancock division in the US. In the next 12-18 months they should work through this. He'd prefer BNS-T for yield.

PARTIAL SELL

Insurance companies have been quite sleepy this year. SLF stock's been flat since 2019. Not a ton of dividend growth. Good positive exposure to rising rates longer term. Well managed. MFC has more catalysts, cheaper, higher dividend yield. Trimmed weighting to insurance broadly and moved into utilities, renewables, and infrastructure.

BUY

It is almost ridiculously cheap. Operating earnings are growing. They have growth in Asia. They are a cheap stock with a decent dividend.

PAST TOP PICK

(A Top Pick Oct 08/20, Up 29%) Pretty washed out name last year, but low hanging fruit. Tripped up with higher rates, as it affected their hedge book. 15% growth with a 7 PE, decent dividend, growth in Asia, wealth management. Hold your nose and buy it. It will help your portfolio over time.

BUY

It corrected more than other financials in yesterday's rout. Their growth has been in China, so maybe they're getting hit by the Evergrande implosion. MFC has always reacted with more volatility than other financial stocks, like cutting their dividend in 2008. At $23.75, it's a good buy. In coming years, he expects them to continue to do well. Prudential sold off some of its businesses, so this adds a little to MFC's underlying value, more than people give it credit for. Very good managers. He'd definitely recommend it.

TOP PICK

He likes their Asian growth, which will be a high-growth sector in terms of insurance and wealth management. Dividend growth has been impressive for years. He's been adding to this for a long time. He likes MFC vs. the banks, both dividend plays, though he's lessened his bank exposure a little. (Analysts’ price target is $29.65)

DON'T BUY

Fundamentals are strong, but not reflected in the stock price MFC chooses to invest most of its cash to growing its Asian business. He sold his holdings around the 2008 crash and bought SunLife instead, because they were too risky among the insurers, then MFC de-risked too much after the 2008-9 recession. If interest rates rise, he'd rather be in SunLife or Great-west Life. MFC volumes are high, because it is the biggest lifeco in Canada. He prefers SunLife.

DON'T BUY

Don't own any of the insurance companies. There are other things that are better. Portfolio yield has come down over the last year. Many companies are now buying back stocks rather than paying dividends.

BUY

Excellent dividend and cheap in terms of value. But it begs his imagination that with all that's going for it why the stock hasn't moved higher. Buy and hold on. Great dividend of 4.4%.

TOP PICK

A blue chip Canadian name. Not his historic preferred name in insurance but it has turned a corner with some innovation investments. Simplifying how things are done. Some nice exposure to NA and the developing world. Shaping up very well, shifting down to 50 and 200 day moving average. (Analysts’ price target is $29.65)

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Manulife Financial (MFC.TO)