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

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is C$76.82.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore cut their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$75.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. National Bankshares increased their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$72.00 to C$73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$73.00 to C$72.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$81.00 to C$89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 1.0 %

SLF opened at C$79.16 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of C$76.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$71.25. Sun Life Financial has a fifty-two week low of C$62.39 and a fifty-two week high of C$79.45. The company has a market cap of C$45.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.77, a current ratio of 65.29 and a quick ratio of 84,866.00.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The financial services provider reported C$1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$1.58 by C$0.13. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 9.90%. The company had revenue of C$8.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$9.18 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial will post 6.9230769 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Senior Officer Linda Dougherty sold 2,000 shares of Sun Life Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$75.30, for a total value of C$150,590.00. In other Sun Life Financial news, Director Stephanie Coyles bought 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of C$70.00 per share, with a total value of C$35,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$35,000. Also, Senior Officer Linda Dougherty sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$75.30, for a total value of C$150,590.00. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial Inc, a financial services company, provides savings, retirement, and pension products worldwide. The company operates in five segments: Asset Management, Canada, U.S., Asia, and Corporate. It offers various insurance products, such as term and permanent life; personal health, which includes prescription drugs, dental, and vision care; critical illness; long-term care; and disability, as well as reinsurance.