Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 5,095,872 shares, an increase of 84.8% from the July 15th total of 2,757,571 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 581,283 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.8 days. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

SLF stock traded down $0.63 during trading on Monday, reaching $80.74. 551,798 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 680,529. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $79.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.78. Sun Life Financial has a 52-week low of $57.22 and a 52-week high of $84.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.87 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Louisbourg Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 3.0% in the first quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 5,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 9,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 5,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Argus set a $81.00 target price on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Evercore downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.33.

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.