Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Receives $86.50 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $86.50.

A number of brokerages recently commented on SLF. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 19th.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:SLF opened at $65.47 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $36.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.87. Sun Life Financial has a 12-month low of $52.44 and a 12-month high of $69.67. The company’s fifty day moving average is $64.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.28.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $973.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $973.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 8.48%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.68 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.91%.

Institutional Trading of Sun Life Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLF. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $398,037,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 86.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,952,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $246,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834,772 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial during the second quarter worth $87,660,000. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 5,991,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $373,984,000 after buying an additional 1,277,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 123.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,245,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,339,000 after buying an additional 1,240,241 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.