Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Given New C$105.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) had its price target lifted by BMO Capital Markets from C$99.00 to C$105.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on SLF. National Bank Financial reduced their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$109.00 to C$108.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. TD Securities reduced their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$104.00 to C$102.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$83.00 to C$95.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$93.00 to C$96.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$84.00 to C$85.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$101.60.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock opened at C$95.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of C$90.61 and a 200-day moving average of C$87.40. The stock has a market cap of C$53.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.85, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.73. Sun Life Financial has a 52-week low of C$77.38 and a 52-week high of C$101.15.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported C$1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$8.73 billion during the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 12.98%. Equities research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial will post 6.9230769 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.04%.

Sun Life Financial News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Sun Life Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sun Life Financial announced a quarterly dividend of C$0.96 per share, up 4.3% from C$0.92 previously, which supports its income appeal for investors. Dividend announcement reference
• Positive Sentiment: CIBC raised its price target to C$102 from C$95, while BMO Capital Markets lifted its target to C$105 from C$99, signaling improved analyst confidence in the shares. Analyst rating update
• Positive Sentiment: TD increased its price target to C$107 and kept a buy rating, reinforcing expectations for further upside after the company’s latest earnings report. TD analyst update
• Neutral Sentiment: Sun Life reported quarterly earnings of C$1.89 per share on revenue of C$8.73 billion, with a net margin of 9.74% and return on equity of 14.68%, which appeared broadly in line with investor expectations. Q1 earnings snapshot
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage also noted Sun Life’s expanding asset-management platform, which may help long-term growth but is not an immediate catalyst on its own. Asset management expansion article
• Negative Sentiment: National Bank Financial trimmed its price target slightly to C$108 from C$109, a minor change that suggests some caution despite maintaining an outperform rating. National Bank Financial update

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

Sun Life Financial is one of Canada’s Big Three life insurance companies along with Great-West Lifeco and Manulife. Sun Life provides insurance, retirement, and wealth-management services to individual and corporate customers in Canada, the United States, and Asia. It also owns MFS Investment Management, a Boston-based asset-management firm. Sun Life generates about a third of its profit from asset-management operations.