Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. Lowers Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. reduced its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 77,978 shares during the period. Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $5,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 6.5% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its position in Sun Life Financial by 41.1% in the second quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 61,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,069,000 after purchasing an additional 17,799 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 882,070 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 2.1% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 310,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,609,000 after purchasing an additional 6,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicola Wealth Management LTD. boosted its position in shares of 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

SLF stock opened at $64.93 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $63.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76 and a beta of 0.88. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.44 and a 1 year high of $69.67.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $973.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $973.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 17.76%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SLF shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, January 8th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.50.

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.