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MFC vs. WRB: Manulife Financial vs. W. R. Berkley Stock Comparison

How do Manulife Financial (MFC) and W. R. Berkley (WRB) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Manulife Financial (MFC) and W. R. Berkley (WRB) both belong to the Insurance industry, though MFC is classified under Life & Health Insurance while WRB falls under Property & Casualty Insurance.

Company profile comparison for Manulife Financial (MFC) and W. R. Berkley (WRB)
Profile ItemMFCWRB
NameManulife Financial CorporationW. R. Berkley Corporation
Country/RegionCanadaUnited States
GICS SectorFinancialsFinancials
GICS Industry GroupInsuranceInsurance
GICS IndustryInsuranceInsurance
GICS Sub-IndustryLife & Health InsuranceProperty & Casualty Insurance
Market Capitalization71.43 billion USD27.95 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNYSENYSE
Listing DateSeptember 24, 1999October 23, 1973
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

MFC
WRB
GSPC
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Manulife Financial (MFC) vs. W. R. Berkley (WRB), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Manulife Financial (MFC) and W. R. Berkley (WRB). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Manulife Financial (MFC) and W. R. Berkley (WRB). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Manulife Financial (MFC) and W. R. Berkley (WRB)
MetricMFCWRB
Total Return (1Y)36.28%4.12%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)38.35%21.96%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)22.50%18.80%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

MFC
WRB
GSPC
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Manulife Financial (MFC) vs. W. R. Berkley (WRB), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Manulife Financial (MFC) and W. R. Berkley (WRB). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Manulife Financial (MFC) and W. R. Berkley (WRB)
MetricMFCWRB
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)20.87%22.41%
Beta (5Y)0.850.21
Max Drawdown (5Y)-26.99%-26.29%
Avg. Volume (3M)1.92M2.52M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

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MFC and WRB are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Manulife Financial (MFC) and W. R. Berkley (WRB)
MetricMFCWRB
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)1.53-0.01
Sortino Ratio (1Y)2.19-0.01

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Manulife Financial (MFC) at 12.24% and W. R. Berkley (WRB) at 19.26% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

MFC

Insurance industry group

12.24%

Max
41.68%
Q3
22.04%
Median
14.81%
MFC
12.24%
Q1
8.79%
Min
-10.66%

WRB

Insurance industry group

19.26%

Max
41.68%
Q3
22.04%
WRB
19.26%
Median
14.81%
Q1
8.79%
Min
-10.66%
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Manulife Financial (MFC) vs. W. R. Berkley (WRB): A comparison of their ROE against the Insurance industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Manulife Financial (MFC) at 18.97% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of W. R. Berkley (WRB) at 12.53%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

MFC

Insurance industry group

18.97%

Max
29.92%
MFC
18.97%
Q3
17.03%
Median
10.97%
Q1
6.21%
Min
-4.68%

WRB

Insurance industry group

12.53%

Max
29.92%
Q3
17.03%
WRB
12.53%
Median
10.97%
Q1
6.21%
Min
-4.68%
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Manulife Financial (MFC) vs. W. R. Berkley (WRB): A comparison of their net margin against the Insurance industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Neither side reports a meaningful operating margin: for Manulife Financial (MFC) in Insurance and W. R. Berkley (WRB) in Insurance, funding costs are part of the core business, so net margin and ROE are the cleaner profitability reads.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Manulife Financial (MFC) and W. R. Berkley (WRB)
MetricMFCWRB
ROE (TTM)12.24%19.26%
ROA (TTM)0.59%3.43%
Net Margin (TTM)18.97%12.53%
Operating Margin (TTM)----
Gross Margin (TTM)----

Growth

Revenue Growth

Only one side can be read here: W. R. Berkley (WRB) reports revenue growth of 6.93%, ranked against its industry; Manulife Financial (MFC) has no revenue growth figure this period.

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Manulife Financial (MFC) vs. W. R. Berkley (WRB): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Manulife Financial (MFC) at 8.10% and W. R. Berkley (WRB) at 2.06% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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Manulife Financial (MFC) vs. W. R. Berkley (WRB): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Manulife Financial (MFC) and W. R. Berkley (WRB)
MetricMFCWRB
Revenue Growth (YoY)--6.93%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)29.95%9.28%
EPS Growth (YoY)8.10%2.06%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)-5.86%10.55%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Manulife Financial (MFC) in Insurance and W. R. Berkley (WRB) in Insurance both report balance sheets without a current/non-current split, so their short-term liquidity is better judged through regulatory and funding measures.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

debt-to-equity ratio is set aside for both: Manulife Financial (MFC) in Insurance and W. R. Berkley (WRB) in Insurance run businesses where balance-sheet leverage is part of the model, so capital-adequacy and funding measures are the better gauges of balance-sheet risk.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Manulife Financial (MFC) and W. R. Berkley (WRB)
MetricMFCWRB
Current Ratio (MRQ)----
Debt / Equity (MRQ)----
Net Debt / EBITDA----

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Manulife Financial (MFC) at 4.32% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while W. R. Berkley (WRB) at 0.49% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, MFC the richer one.

MFC

Insurance industry group

4.32%

Max
5.12%
MFC
4.32%
Q3
2.15%
Median
0.98%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

WRB

Insurance industry group

0.49%

Max
5.12%
Q3
2.15%
Median
0.98%
WRB
0.49%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Manulife Financial (MFC) vs. W. R. Berkley (WRB): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Insurance industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

W. R. Berkley (WRB) at 8.03% pays out a band-typical share of earnings, while Manulife Financial (MFC) at 54.30% distributes more than its industry norm — less retained, thinner cover.

MFC

Insurance industry group

54.30%

Max
76.67%
MFC
54.30%
Q3
35.18%
Median
14.74%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

WRB

Insurance industry group

8.03%

Max
76.67%
Q3
35.18%
Median
14.74%
WRB
8.03%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Manulife Financial (MFC) vs. W. R. Berkley (WRB): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Insurance industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Manulife Financial (MFC) and W. R. Berkley (WRB)
MetricMFCWRB
Dividend Yield (TTM)4.32%0.49%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)54.30%8.03%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Manulife Financial (MFC) at 17.23 and W. R. Berkley (WRB) at 15.90 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

MFC

Insurance industry group

17.23

Max
28.37
Q3
18.75
MFC
17.23
Median
12.23
Q1
9.08
Min
2.32

WRB

Insurance industry group

15.90

Max
28.37
Q3
18.75
WRB
15.90
Median
12.23
Q1
9.08
Min
2.32
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Manulife Financial (MFC) vs. W. R. Berkley (WRB): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Insurance industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both Manulife Financial (MFC) at 2.11 and W. R. Berkley (WRB) at 1.88 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

MFC

Insurance industry group

2.11

Max
4.03
Q3
2.25
MFC
2.11
Median
1.23
Q1
0.85
Min
0.07

WRB

Insurance industry group

1.88

Max
4.03
Q3
2.25
WRB
1.88
Median
1.23
Q1
0.85
Min
0.07
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Manulife Financial (MFC) vs. W. R. Berkley (WRB): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Insurance industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Manulife Financial (MFC) at 2.13 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while W. R. Berkley (WRB) at 3.04 carries an above-peer premium to book — WRB is pricier on assets.

MFC

Insurance industry group

2.13

Max
5.07
Q3
2.79
MFC
2.13
Median
1.76
Q1
1.23
Min
0.30

WRB

Insurance industry group

3.04

Max
5.07
WRB
3.04
Q3
2.79
Median
1.76
Q1
1.23
Min
0.30
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Manulife Financial (MFC) vs. W. R. Berkley (WRB): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Insurance industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Manulife Financial (MFC) and W. R. Berkley (WRB)
MetricMFCWRB
P/E Ratio (TTM)17.2315.90
P/S Ratio (TTM)2.111.88
P/B Ratio (MRQ)2.133.04
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)----