Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.02, reports. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.96% and a net margin of 7.66%. The company had revenue of $986.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $986.89 million.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SLF traded down $8.51 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $73.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,015,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 676,843. The company has a market capitalization of $40.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.58. Sun Life Financial has a twelve month low of $57.22 and a twelve month high of $84.38.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 25th will be issued a dividend of C$1.00 per share. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of C$0.96. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 25th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is presently 63.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Scotiabank upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Evercore lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Argus lifted their target price on Sun Life Financial from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from $98.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.50.

Key Stories Impacting Sun Life Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting Sun Life Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Underlying EPS increased by double digits, with growth across Canada, Asia, U.S. stop-loss and GreenOak. Reported EPS of $1.47 also narrowly beat the $1.45 consensus estimate. Sun Life Q3 results
• Positive Sentiment: The board raised the quarterly common-share dividend by 4 cents to $1.00 per share, a 4.1% increase—supportive for income-focused investors. Dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue was about $986.9 million, in line with analysts’ expectations, offering little surprise on that measure. Quarterly earnings summary
• Negative Sentiment: Despite stronger underlying earnings, reported Q3 profit fell 29%, a headline result that may be contributing to investor concern. Sun Life Q3 profit report
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen cut its rating from Buy to Hold, and National Bank Financial lowered its rating from Outperform to Sector Perform. The downgrades add pressure even as TD Cowen set a CA$115 price target. TD Cowen downgrade

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

Sun Life Financial Inc (NYSE: SLF) is a Canadian financial services company that provides insurance, wealth, and asset management solutions to individuals, businesses, and institutions. Its offerings include life, health, and dental insurance; retirement and savings products; investment solutions; and employee benefits.

Through its asset management businesses, Sun Life provides investment management and advisory services to institutional and retail clients. The company also offers workplace pension, group insurance, and employee wellness programs, helping employers support the financial security and health of their employees.

Founded in Montreal in 1865, Sun Life serves clients primarily in Canada, the United States, and several Asian markets, including Hong Kong, the Philippines, Indonesia, India, and Vietnam.