Short Interest in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Expands By 68.0%

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 6,213,718 shares, a growth of 68.0% from the April 30th total of 3,698,593 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 710,364 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.7 days. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the first quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 68.4% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the first quarter valued at $33,000. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SLF shares. Wall Street Zen cut Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

NYSE SLF opened at $72.11 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $69.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59 and a beta of 0.89. Sun Life Financial has a fifty-two week low of $56.22 and a fifty-two week high of $74.16.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $925.99 million. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 17.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sun Life Financial will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.94%.

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.