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

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$116.00.

Several research firms have weighed in on SLF. Scotia upped their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$110.00 to C$118.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays lifted their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$96.00 to C$98.00 in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$98.00 to C$119.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. National Bank Financial increased their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$108.00 to C$125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, TD raised their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$121.00 to C$124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock opened at C$115.27 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of C$111.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$98.57. Sun Life Financial has a 12-month low of C$78.06 and a 12-month high of C$118.99. The company has a current ratio of 27.38, a quick ratio of 84,866.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 34.34. The stock has a market cap of C$63.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.80.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported C$2.02 EPS for the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 13.89% and a net margin of 8.81%.The business had revenue of C$9.05 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial will post 6.9230769 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.96 dividend. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sun Life Financial

In related news, insider Jacques Jr. Goulet sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$97.80, for a total value of C$3,423,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$103,081.20. This represents a 97.08% decrease in their position. Also, insider Linda Dougherty bought 6,740 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$97.97 per share, for a total transaction of C$660,317.80. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 13,480 shares in the company, valued at C$1,320,635.60. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their position. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 261,579 shares of company stock worth $26,689,273. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sun Life Financial News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Sun Life Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Desjardins raised its price target from C$120 to C$122 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying approximately 6% potential upside. BayStreet.CA analyst ratings
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies Financial Group increased its target substantially, from C$131 to C$141. The new target represents approximately 22.6% potential upside and is the most bullish estimate among the reported revisions. BayStreet.CA analyst ratings
• Positive Sentiment: Scotia lifted its target from C$110 to C$118 while maintaining a “sector perform” rating, indicating modest upside from recent trading levels. BayStreet.CA analyst ratings
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its target from C$98 to C$119 and kept a “sector perform” rating. The higher target suggests improved valuation expectations, despite the neutral recommendation. BayStreet.CA analyst ratings
• Neutral Sentiment: Separate reports cited price-target changes to C$124 and C$98, but did not provide enough detail to identify the analysts’ ratings or rationale. The wide range highlights differing views of SLF’s fair value. Sun Life Financial price target raised to C$124 Sun Life Financial price target raised to C$98

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.