Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) Price Target Raised to $88.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) had its price target upped by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $82.00 to $88.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 41.43% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. National Bank Financial upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Cormark raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of SLF stock traded up $0.08 on Monday, reaching $62.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 208,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 664,619. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.04. Sun Life Financial has a 1 year low of $46.41 and a 1 year high of $63.34. The company has a market capitalization of $35.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.44 billion. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 16.86%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter worth $382,176,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 295.5% in the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,911,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,453,000 after buying an additional 1,427,815 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2,071.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,350,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $80,160,000 after buying an additional 1,288,545 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 71.9% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,867,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $170,068,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,000 shares during the period. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 1,002.9% in the 1st quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,120,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019,254 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sun Life Financial

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.