Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as C$106.47 and last traded at C$105.67, with a volume of 730208 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$104.47.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on SLF. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$84.00 to C$85.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$83.00 to C$95.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. National Bank Financial decreased their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$109.00 to C$108.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. TD upped their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$102.00 to C$107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$93.00 to C$96.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$101.60.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is C$96.65 and its 200-day moving average price is C$90.00. The firm has a market capitalization of C$58.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.76, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.84.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported C$1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$8.73 billion during the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 12.98%. Analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 6.9230769 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. 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 payout ratio is 67.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jacques Jr. Goulet sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$97.80, for a total value of C$3,423,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,054 shares in the company, valued at C$103,081.20. This trade represents a 97.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Melissa Jane Kennedy sold 7,366 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$101.49, for a total transaction of C$747,575.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$1,412,334.84. This trade represents a 34.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 380,998 shares of company stock valued at $38,271,605. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial is one of Canada’s Big Three life insurance companies along with Great-West Lifeco and Manulife. Sun Life provides insurance, retirement, and wealth-management services to individual and corporate customers in Canada, the United States, and Asia. It also owns MFS Investment Management, a Boston-based asset-management firm. Sun Life generates about a third of its profit from asset-management operations.