Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $78.98 and last traded at $79.0670, with a volume of 58647 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on SLF shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, May 8th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Argus set a $81.00 target price on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.67.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.7%

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $73.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.27. The firm has a market cap of $43.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36 and a beta of 0.89.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $925.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.94%.

Institutional Trading of Sun Life Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SLF. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 1.8% during the first quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 12,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $809,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 33.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 83,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,243,000 after purchasing an additional 20,993 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas raised its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 4.3% in the first quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas now owns 87,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,462,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 44.6% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 1,101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

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.