Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $86.50.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price target on Sun Life Financial in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 8th.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SLF stock traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $62.85. The company had a trading volume of 508,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 313,170. The firm has a market cap of $34.80 billion, a PE ratio of 16.71 and a beta of 0.87. Sun Life Financial has a one year low of $52.44 and a one year high of $66.81. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $60.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.47.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $944.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $944.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 16.93% and a net margin of 7.53%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 26th were issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 26th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 69.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $362,886,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in Sun Life Financial during the second quarter valued at $87,660,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 226.8% in the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,270,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,327,000 after buying an additional 882,070 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,422,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,691,568,000 after buying an additional 827,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1,441.6% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 854,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,760,000 after buying an additional 799,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Company 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.