Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $77.93 and last traded at $77.6420, with a volume of 322103 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on SLF. National Bank Financial raised Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Argus set a $81.00 price target on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.67.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 1.3%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $71.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35 and a beta of 0.89.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 7.85%.The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $925.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. 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 72.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,615,788,000 after acquiring an additional 534,772 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 6,869,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $430,244,000 after purchasing an additional 878,031 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $398,037,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 6.7% during 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, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 86.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,952,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $246,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834,772 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.