Short Interest in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Decreases By 59.1%

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,313,664 shares, a drop of 59.1% from the May 31st total of 5,662,030 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 559,386 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SLF shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.67.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.3%

Sun Life Financial stock traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $78.09. The stock had a trading volume of 340,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 694,751. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $73.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.00. Sun Life Financial has a 12 month low of $56.22 and a 12 month high of $78.98. The company has a market capitalization of $43.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.13 and a beta of 0.90.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 7.85%.The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $925.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial will post 5.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $398,037,000. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 86.6% during the 4th 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. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 2,187.4% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,601,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531,200 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 5,991,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $373,984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings 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 valued at $140,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240,241 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.