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

Manulife Financial (MFC.TO)

61.99

-1.82 (2.85%)

as of Oct 23, 2026, 8:00:00 pm Market Closed.

1633 watching

BUY

vs. the Canadian banks It's not an either-or question. You can buy both. The new CEO has done a very good job to put aside the legacy businesses that are a drag. They have high-growth insurance business in Asia. MFC has lagged SLF the past few years in terms of stock price, but MFC's earnings should outpace SLF's. Also, MFC is closer to book value than SLF. It pays a good dividend. The banks are attractively priced too.

WAIT

The word hope is always mentioned with MFC as in hoping the price rises to $30. That said, MFC is Scotiabank's top insurance pick. It's the only one to exceed EPS expectations. All Canadian insurers need the markets to do better and be less volatile. MFC's wealth management had outflows of $9 billion last quarter; this quarter only $1 billion which is good. EPS grew 20% in the last quarter. He will wait till MFC breaks out of its 10-year trendline.

COMMENT

It scores well on valuation -- 99 percentile. Only 9 times PE. Good yield which is safe. An interest rate cut would hurt their margins and possibly their share price. Without global growth turning around yet, rates could come under pressure. Yield 4%

BUY

Why hasn't it taken off? He loves it this year, outperforming the banks. He sees great upside. They're buying back a lot of shares. That lawsuit overhang is gone. It's trading below historical valuation.

WEAK BUY

He has a small position. He lightened it in the past. He would buy on a pullback. Asia looks promising. We have not seen a whole lot of growth out of their Asia operations so far, however. He has difficulty with their growth model otherwise. (Analysts’ price target is $29.00)

COMMENT

Their bet on Asia paid off. One of the major headwinds is interest rates. Over ten years you were just clipping the dividend. If you think interest rates are headed higher then you would be more bullish or if you agree with him that they are going lower then you would stay away. (Analysts’ price target is $28.58)

PAST TOP PICK

(A Top Pick May 03/18, Up 8%) They beat earnings. Still modeling good growth and trading at ridiculously low valuation. Still there.

COMMENT

It's trying to break through consolidation now or it could pause. It moves up and down and this pattern may continue, meaning falling back to the lower trading range of $22.

BUY

How to collect the dividend? It should be no problem, unless you're enrolled in a DRIP. Their yield is 4% and they certainly pay it. Their payout ratio at only 9%, which they can easily maintain. Earnings are up 10% in the recent quarter with the company quarter expected to be up another 8%, but there'll be glacial growth in the coming year of 5%. ROE of 14% is reasonable. 2020's earnings growth expected to be 9%. 5-9% earnings growth is okay. Look out for what happens to interest rates and bond yields.

DON'T BUY

Issue is the short report, though this has been resolved. Issue in general with insurers is they have difficult time making money in low interest rate environment. Trying to grow in Asia. Not expensive, and over 4% dividend yield. Hard to see where sustainable growth will come going forward. Good dividend yield and a bit of growth over time, but not an exciting growth story. It'll be stuck in the 20s.

BUY

The court ruled in MFC's favour and is now in the past. They just did an executive shake-up. He thinks MFC is going in the right direction, but keep an eye on it. Interest rates are pretty good now for the insurers. MFC has done a good job using automation to reduce costs.

BUY

SLF vs. MFC Owns MFC which has underformed SLF, so there's room for catch-up. MFC has a more attactive multiple. Its new CEO has boxed out legacy businesses to focus on growth in China which accounts for 25% of revenues. Trades at 8x forward earnings and 1x price-to-book. Also pays a good dividend.

HOLD

Short sellers? This has been a heart breaker through is career. One of Canada's largest companies and a bell weather for financials. He would buy it for the dividend and diversification away from the banks. It is unlikely to trade back to $30 soon. He would see $20 as key support.

TOP PICK

Just bought it yesterday. It broke their 200-day moving average. Insurance companies are performing well. 53% of their revenues are coming from Asia. Growing middle class n that area. 1.1 times PB. Discount to competitors and their 10 years average. Dividend yield of 4327% and P/E of 8x. (Analysts’ price target is $27.64)

PAST TOP PICK

(A Top Pick Aug 09/18, Down 5%) Shortly after that pick, the rogue short report came out, but MFC recently won that court case. MFC went through the ringer and has since (recently) bounced back. You'll do fine with this. They get a lot of growth out of Asia, and could spin off a division in the U.S. that could create shareholder value. A good Canadian investment with exposure abroad. He also owns SunLife, but MFC offers more growth. Lifecos are a good space to invest a little money in.

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Manulife Financial (MFC.TO)