Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $81.60 and last traded at $81.2710, with a volume of 636430 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Evercore cut Sun Life Financial from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday. Argus set a $81.00 price objective on Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.67.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.2%

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.60 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09 and a beta of 0.88.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $925.99 million. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 17.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SLF. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 68.4% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.