Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $86.50.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SLF. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. 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. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SLF. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $244,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 113.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 4,270 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter valued at $204,000. Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter valued at $232,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 66.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

SLF stock opened at $73.93 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $69.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.29. The company has a market capitalization of $40.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05 and a beta of 0.89. Sun Life Financial has a 52-week low of $56.22 and a 52-week high of $74.68.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial will post 5.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. 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 5.2%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.94%.

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.