National Bank Financial Research Analysts Lift Earnings Estimates for Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) – Analysts at National Bank Financial increased their Q1 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Sun Life Financial in a research note issued on Thursday, April 25th. National Bank Financial analyst G. Dechaine now forecasts that the financial services provider will earn $1.20 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.19. The consensus estimate for Sun Life Financial’s current full-year earnings is $5.03 per share. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for Sun Life Financial’s Q2 2024 earnings at $1.21 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $1.28 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $4.97 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $5.39 EPS.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.73 billion during the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.30% and a net margin of 7.79%.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.7 %

SLF stock opened at $51.67 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $30.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day moving average of $53.44 and a 200-day moving average of $51.38. Sun Life Financial has a 12-month low of $44.57 and a 12-month high of $55.46.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canoe Financial LP grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 7,959.7% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 45,648,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,367,326,000 after purchasing an additional 45,082,012 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,882,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,186,706,000 after acquiring an additional 410,759 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 15,665,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $816,424,000 after acquiring an additional 4,035,394 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.3% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 9,925,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $484,388,000 after acquiring an additional 27,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 9,725,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $504,371,000 after acquiring an additional 673,966 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.581 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.50%. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 59.79%.

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.