Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$101.60.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SLF. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$84.00 to C$85.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. National Bank Financial decreased their price target 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 note on Thursday, May 7th. TD increased their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$99.00 to C$105.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$95.00 to C$102.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th.

Insider Transactions at Sun Life Financial

In related news, insider Manjit Singh sold 188,312 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$103.20, for a total value of C$19,433,798.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 547 shares in the company, valued at C$56,450.40. This trade represents a 99.71% decrease in their position. Also, insider Linda Dougherty sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$101.40, for a total value of C$354,900.00. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 380,998 shares of company stock valued at $38,271,605. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 0.6%

SLF traded down C$0.63 during trading on Friday, hitting C$113.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 612,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,963,166. The firm has a market capitalization of C$62.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.08, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.79. Sun Life Financial has a twelve month low of C$77.38 and a twelve month high of C$114.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is C$104.50 and its 200-day moving average price is C$94.28. The company has a quick ratio of 84,866.00, a current ratio of 6.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.51.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported C$1.89 EPS for the quarter. The company 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 12.89%. Analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial will post 6.9230769 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is 67.04%.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

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.