Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) Sees Strong Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 2,394,637 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 292% from the previous session’s volume of 610,410 shares.The stock last traded at $64.81 and had previously closed at $64.56.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. National Bank Financial reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.1%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.93. The company has a market capitalization of $35.81 billion, a PE ratio of 14.69 and a beta of 0.88.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.06. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The firm had revenue of $973.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $973.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.68 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is presently 60.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,884,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,615,788,000 after purchasing an additional 534,772 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $398,037,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 6.5% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,529,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $353,181,000 after acquiring an additional 347,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position 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 during the period. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.