Sun Life Financial’s (SLF) “Sector Perform” Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed their sector perform rating on shares of Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has a $84.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

SLF has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Securities upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. National Bankshares reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Cibc Captl Mkts cut Sun Life Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of SLF stock opened at $59.12 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $33.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.90. Sun Life Financial has a 1 year low of $52.44 and a 1 year high of $66.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.34.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 7.59%.The firm had revenue of $944.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $944.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.33 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th will be given a $0.92 dividend. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 26th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.41%.

Institutional Trading of Sun Life Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $244,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Sun Life Financial by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 591,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,858,000 after buying an additional 32,048 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 24,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,425,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the first quarter valued at $263,000. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial Inc, a financial services company, provides savings, retirement, and pension products worldwide. The company operates in five segments: Asset Management, Canada, U.S., Asia, and Corporate. It offers various insurance products, such as term and permanent life; personal health, which includes prescription drugs, dental, and vision care; critical illness; long-term care; and disability, as well as reinsurance.