National Bank raised its price target on the shares of Manulife Financial (MFC.TO, MFC) by C$2.00 to C$59.00 and maintained its outperform rating even though the insurer reported a first-quarter core earnings miss.
Manulife's first-quarter core EPS of $1.06, missed analyst Gabriel Dechaine's forecast of $1.08 and consensus of $1.10.
The lifeco's U.S. segment, which reported $250 million of mortality experience losses in 2025, turned positive this quarter (as did LTC morbidity).
Asia region earnings were up 22%. Aside from the segment's expected contribution to the 2027 ROE target, Dechaine notes that investors focus on sales growth as an indicator of profit growth beyond 2027. To that end, insurance sales were up 8%, including 18% growth in Hong Kong, addressing concerns that regulatory changes would hamper sales performance for an extended period, he writes.
Manulfe reported $38 million of experience losses in Canada, driven by higher disability claims in the Group business. Global wealth and asset management (WAM) earnings were slightly below expectations, as net outflows were larger than expected at $4.4 billion.
Price: $51.59, Change: $-3.04, Percent Change: -5.56%