Sun Life Financial Rating Increased to Outperform at BMO Capital Markets (SLF)

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) was upgraded by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report released on Thursday, TheFlyOnTheWall.com reports. The firm currently has a $37.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $32.00. BMO Capital Markets’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 16.98% from the stock’s previous close.

The analysts wrote, “SLF reported core EPS on continuing operations of $0.63, ahead of our $0.59 estimate and consensus of, we estimate, $0.59-0.60. SLF also revised its 2015 earnings objective to $1.850 billion or 3% higher than our $1.8B estimate… A good beat with excellent sales growth and very good results in all divisions. Especially encouraging was the topline and bottomline growth in Asia and the U.S. The pre-tax total of the combination of expected profit and the impact of new business was up 31% YoY and 29% QoQ for Asia and 25% YoY and 12% QoQ for the U.S. The better revised 2015 earnings objective improves earnings visibility and removes a bit of an overhang on the stock.”

Shares of Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) traded up 3.04% during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $32.59. Sun Life Financial has a one year low of $21.17 and a one year high of $32.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $31.07. The company has a market cap of $19.652 billion and a P/E ratio of 13.53.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) last released its earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.05. On average, analysts predict that Sun Life Financial will post $2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on SLF. Analysts at Barclays Capital initiated coverage on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note to investors on Wednesday. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Analysts at Zacks reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note to investors on Monday, May 27th. They now have a $30.00 price target on the stock.

Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.57.

Sun Life Financial Inc (NYSE:SLF) is the holding company of Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Sun Life Assurance).

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