Brokerages Set Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) Price Target at C$77.18

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$77.18.

SLF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$82.00 to C$83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. CIBC increased their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$77.00 to C$80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. National Bankshares increased their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$72.00 to C$73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Evercore increased their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

SLF opened at C$71.75 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 78.47, a quick ratio of 84,866.00 and a current ratio of 6.81. Sun Life Financial has a 52-week low of C$61.84 and a 52-week high of C$74.94. The stock has a market capitalization of C$41.79 billion, a PE ratio of 13.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is C$72.35 and its 200-day moving average price is C$69.74.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported C$1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$1.59 by C$0.09. The company had revenue of C$18.68 billion for the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 10.26%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial will post 6.9056785 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.35%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Senior Officer Daniel Fishbein sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$74.45, for a total transaction of C$1,191,120.00. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

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.