Analysts Are Betting On Manulife Financial Corporation (TSE:MFC) With A Big Upgrade This Week

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.

Following this upgrade, Manulife Financial's twelve analysts are forecasting 2021 revenues to be CA$55b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Before the latest update, the analysts were foreseeing CA$38b of revenue in 2021. It looks like there's been a clear increase in optimism around Manulife Financial, given the very substantial lift in revenue forecasts.

Check out our latest analysis for Manulife Financial

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. We would highlight that sales are expected to reverse, with a forecast 1.9% annualised revenue decline to the end of 2021. That is a notable change from historical growth of 9.8% over the last five years. Compare this with our data, which suggests that other companies in the same industry are, in aggregate, expected to see their revenue grow 8.7% per year. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - Manulife Financial is expected to lag the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The highlight for us was that analysts increased their revenue forecasts for Manulife Financial this year. They also expect company revenue to perform worse than the wider market. Seeing the dramatic upgrade to this year's forecasts, it might be time to take another look at Manulife Financial.

Analysts are clearly in love with Manulife Financial at the moment, but before diving in - you should be aware that we've identified some warning flags with the business, such as a weak balance sheet. You can learn more, and discover the 2 other warning signs we've identified, for free on our platform here.

We also provide an overview of the Manulife Financial Board and CEO remuneration and length of tenure at the company, and whether insiders have been buying the stock, here.

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