Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

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

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SLF shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, National Bank Financial reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, November 6th.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

SLF traded up $3.25 on Thursday, reaching $68.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 409,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 485,318. Sun Life Financial has a 1 year low of $52.44 and a 1 year high of $68.35. The business’s 50 day moving average is $62.39 and its 200 day moving average is $60.60. The stock has a market cap of $37.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05 and a beta of 0.88.

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is 69.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,884,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,615,788,000 after acquiring an additional 534,772 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $398,037,000. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 6,157,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $409,576,000 after purchasing an additional 377,204 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,529,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $353,181,000 after purchasing an additional 347,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,896,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,542,000 after purchasing an additional 36,698 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

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.