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

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $86.50.

SLF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 68.4% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

SLF opened at $73.04 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.97. Sun Life Financial has a one year low of $56.22 and a one year high of $74.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83 and a beta of 0.91.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $925.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial will post 5.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be given a $0.96 dividend. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is presently 69.59%.

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.