Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $96.3333.

SLF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Monday, August 10th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 26th.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.1%

Sun Life Financial stock opened at $79.07 on Monday. Sun Life Financial has a 12 month low of $57.22 and a 12 month high of $84.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.23. The firm has a market cap of $44.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48 and a beta of 0.88.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.07. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.96% and a net margin of 7.66%.The firm had revenue of $10.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $994.33 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial will post 5.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 26th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.12%.

Institutional Trading of Sun Life Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter valued at about $335,000. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Plan A Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC now owns 10,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $818,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 14,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $234,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

About Sun Life Financial

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.