Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Receives $98.67 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $98.6667.

Several equities analysts recently commented on SLF shares. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 26th. Evercore lowered Sun Life Financial from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings raised Sun Life Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of SLF stock opened at $80.74 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.41. Sun Life Financial has a one year low of $57.22 and a one year high of $84.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.87, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.87.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $994.33 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 26th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLF. Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,079,000 after purchasing an additional 1,712 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC bought a new position in Sun Life Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Sun Life Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $236,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2,386.1% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 2,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $791,000. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

Sun Life Financial Inc is a Canada-based financial services company that provides insurance, wealth, and asset management products to individuals, businesses, and institutions. Its offerings include life, health, and dental insurance; retirement and investment solutions; group benefits; and financial planning services.

Through its asset management operations, Sun Life serves institutional and individual investors with investment management and related advisory services. The company also provides workplace benefit and retirement programs designed to support employers and their employees.

Founded in 1865, Sun Life serves customers in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and several markets in Asia.