Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Short Interest Update

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 5,095,872 shares, a growth of 84.8% from the July 15th total of 2,757,571 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 581,283 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on SLF. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Sun Life Financial from $98.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 26th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Sun Life Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.33.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:SLF opened at $80.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $45.01 billion, a PE ratio of 18.85 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s fifty day moving average is $79.89 and its 200 day moving average is $71.78. Sun Life Financial has a 52 week low of $57.22 and a 52 week high of $84.38.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.07. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 17.96%. The business had revenue of $10.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $994.33 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial will post 5.72 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 26th. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is 66.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $544,052,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $398,037,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $293,050,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the second quarter worth $292,980,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the second quarter worth $280,312,000. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Sun Life Financial

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.