Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $96.3333.

Several brokerages have commented on SLF. Argus set a $81.00 price target on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Sun Life Financial from $98.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th.

Institutional Trading of Sun Life Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $544,052,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $398,037,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $293,050,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $292,980,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $280,312,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SLF opened at $78.82 on Monday. Sun Life Financial has a 52 week low of $57.22 and a 52 week high of $84.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $80.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.42 and a beta of 0.88.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $10.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $994.33 million. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 17.96%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial will post 5.72 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 26th. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is presently 64.02%.

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.