Empowered Funds LLC Acquires New Shares in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 20,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,580,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SLF. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Sun Life Financial during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, First Bancorp Inc ME bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on SLF. Argus boosted their target price on Sun Life Financial from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from $98.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Evercore downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.67.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 1.6%

SLF opened at $80.73 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.22 and a 1-year high of $84.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $80.45 and a 200-day moving average of $73.07.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.07. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 17.96%. The business had revenue of $10.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $994.33 million. Equities analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.72 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be given a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 26th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.02%.

Sun Life Financial Profile

Sun Life Financial Inc, founded in 1865 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, is an international financial services organization that provides a range of insurance, wealth management and asset management solutions. The company serves individual and institutional clients, offering products designed to protect against life and health risks, help clients save for retirement, and manage investments on behalf of customers and third parties.

Core business activities include life and health insurance, group benefits for employers, retirement and pension products, and wealth management services such as mutual funds and segregated fund solutions.