Analysts Set Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Target Price at $86.50

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $86.50.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SLF shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. National Bank Financial upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock opened at $72.74 on Friday. Sun Life Financial has a one year low of $56.22 and a one year high of $74.16. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $66.83 and its 200 day moving average is $63.82. The stock has a market cap of $44.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75 and a beta of 0.91.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $925.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. Analysts predict that Sun Life Financial will post 5.74 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 28.7% during the third quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. now owns 356,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,427,000 after purchasing an additional 79,500 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 226.8% during the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,270,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,327,000 after purchasing an additional 882,070 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 117.7% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 372,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,386,000 after purchasing an additional 201,485 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 9.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,733,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,120,000 after purchasing an additional 243,323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Todd Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 5.7% during the third quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 671,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,312,000 after purchasing an additional 36,204 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

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.