Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$76.09.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Securities reduced their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$73.00 to C$72.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Barclays set a C$76.00 price objective on Sun Life Financial and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Evercore decreased their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$75.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. National Bankshares increased their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$72.00 to C$73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$78.00 to C$81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th.

Insider Activity at Sun Life Financial

In other news, Senior Officer Daniel Fishbein sold 15,999 shares of Sun Life Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$71.40, for a total value of C$1,142,323.80. In related news, Senior Officer Linda Dougherty sold 2,000 shares of the company’s 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. Also, Senior Officer Daniel Fishbein sold 15,999 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$71.40, for a total value of C$1,142,323.80. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of SLF stock opened at C$79.11 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of C$72.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$70.75. Sun Life Financial has a 12-month low of C$61.84 and a 12-month high of C$79.45. The company has a quick ratio of 84,866.00, a current ratio of 65.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.77. The firm has a market cap of C$45.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.93.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The financial services provider reported C$1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of C$9.18 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial will post 7.3314607 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is 61.36%.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

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.