Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Receives $86.50 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $86.50.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SLF shares. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price objective on Sun Life Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cibc Captl Mkts lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $84.00 price target on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Monday, November 10th.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLF opened at $61.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $34.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.36 and a beta of 0.87. Sun Life Financial has a 1 year low of $52.44 and a 1 year high of $66.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $60.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.76.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 16.93%. The company had revenue of $944.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $944.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 26th. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.68%.

Institutional Trading of Sun Life Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 20.7% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 87,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,246,000 after purchasing an additional 14,980 shares in the last quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC bought a new position in Sun Life Financial during the third quarter valued at $540,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in Sun Life Financial during the third quarter valued at $730,000. Achmea Investment Management B.V. purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $2,341,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $178,000. 52.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.