Yahoo Finance New Forecasts: Here's What Analysts Think The Future Holds For Manulife Financial Corporation (TSE:MFC)
Celebrations may be in order for Manulife Financial Corporation (TSE:MFC) shareholders, with the analysts delivering a significant upgrade to their statutory estimates for the company. The analysts have sharply increased their revenue numbers, with a view that Manulife Financial will make substantially more sales than they'd previously expected.
After this upgrade, Manulife Financial's twelve analysts are now forecasting revenues of CA$67b in 2023. This would be a substantial 258% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are anticipated to plunge 41% to CA$3.07 in the same period. Before this latest update, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of CA$53b and earnings per share (EPS) of CA$3.25 in 2023. While revenue forecasts have increased, the analysts if anything seem a little more pessimistic, given the minor downgrade to earnings per share estimates in this update.
View our latest analysis for Manulife Financial
The consensus price target was unchanged at CA$29.13, suggesting the business is performing roughly in line with expectations, despite some adjustments to profit and revenue forecasts. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. The most optimistic Manulife Financial analyst has a price target of CA$35.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at CA$25.00. There are definitely some different views on the stock, but the range of estimates is not wide enough as to imply that the situation is unforecastable, in our view.
Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. One thing stands out from these estimates, which is that Manulife Financial is forecast to grow faster in the future than it has in the past, with revenues expected to display 4x annualised growth until the end of 2023. If achieved, this would be a much better result than the 10% annual decline over the past five years. Compare this against analyst estimates for the broader industry, which suggest that (in aggregate) industry revenues are expected to grow 9.0% annually. So it looks like Manulife Financial is expected to grow faster than its competitors, at least for a while.
The Bottom Line
The biggest issue in the new estimates is that analysts have reduced their earnings per share estimates, suggesting business headwinds lay ahead for Manulife Financial. Fortunately, analysts also upgraded their revenue estimates, and our data indicates sales are expected to perform better than the wider market. Seeing the dramatic upgrade to this year's forecasts, it might be time to take another look at Manulife Financial.
With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have estimates - from multiple Manulife Financial analysts - going out to 2025, and you can see them free on our platform here.
Of course, seeing company management invest large sums of money in a stock can be just as useful as knowing whether analysts are upgrading their estimates. So you may also wish to search this free list of stocks that insiders are buying.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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