Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Receives $86.50 Consensus PT from Analysts

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $86.50.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SLF. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 5th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 28.7% during the third quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. now owns 356,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,427,000 after buying an additional 79,500 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 226.8% during the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,270,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,327,000 after buying an additional 882,070 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 117.7% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 372,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,386,000 after buying an additional 201,485 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 9.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,733,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,120,000 after buying an additional 243,323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $2,341,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

NYSE SLF opened at $70.75 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $39.20 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.76. Sun Life Financial has a 1-year low of $56.22 and a 1-year high of $71.04.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $973.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 8.48%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial will post 5.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.36%.

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.