
TSE:MFC
This summary was created by AI, based on 28 opinions in the last 12 months.
Manulife Financial (MFC) has received mixed reviews from experts, highlighting its strengths in capital management, particularly in Asia and wealth management. Several analysts view it as a reliable income stock, benefiting from a decent dividend yield, yet caution against its growth potential compared to Canadian banks. The company has faced short-term challenges, including mixed results from its alternative portfolio and limited growth in its U.S. operations, which has sparked some concerns. Analysts suggest waiting for opportunities to buy during pullbacks, given its valuation relative to major financials, alongside the potential for increased profitability stemming from rising interest rates. Overall, while MFC is generally recognized for its stability and improvements in earnings quality, it struggles to capture investor attention amidst recent market shifts.
Thinks the stock goes higher and expects we will see a dividend increase at the end of this year or into January. However, the stock is getting up there. Thinks the quarter coming out next week will be flattish and might take $0.50 off of the stock. It is more of a Buy in the $17 area. 2.8% dividend yield.
Lifecos have had a good run because of the interest-rate rises. It is now approaching the resistance level of about $19-$20 and his concern is that a lot of patient investors will be selling their holdings once it gets close to that level, it will be hard to break through that resistance. Watch to see if it can break through that level and if it can, that is a very positive sign. If it gets turned down, it will have more trouble breaking through. Seasonally, lifecos have a similar seasonality to banks but, when interest rates are changing the way they are, it can have a different impact.
Insurers have had a big run in the last little while and even in the near-term. This one is showing a pretty high relative strength index, so it is quite overbought at this point. He would prefer it at $16-$16.50 level. Likes Sun Life (SLF-T) a little bit more whose dividend is a little bit greater.
Coming into some old levels of resistance (2011) but basically the trend has been good. The chart shows a classic break of resistance at $14-$14.50 area. It broke and then it tested. Stock looks good but is probably a little ahead of itself right now and it probably needs to pull back to the trend line. If you don’t own, he would wait for a little bit of a pull back.
Unfortunately, stock has had a very nice move over the last 3 or 4 months. Still doesn’t think it is too late. One of the reasons it has come back is because of increased interest rates. On the equity side, they have been able to take some advantage on the rising market in getting their equity portfolios back up but have also taken the opportunity to hedge some.
This is one of the beneficiaries of higher interest rates. The valuation of the liability pool gets less as interest rates go up. It is not as risk-free as you think. They were exposed to the equity market but took some of that off the table to survive. It is a stock to be in when everyone thinks interest rates are going up. Prefers SLF-T
This is a name that is just going to go higher. It is still under-owned in people’s portfolios. Rising yields and rising equity markets are going to be a wind at their back. Getting into new businesses and he expected them to have new business strain costs as a result, but those costs have been lower than expected. Sees it as an upside in Asia and the US.