Brokerages Set Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) PT at C$76.09

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$76.09.

SLF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$78.00 to C$81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Evercore dropped their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$75.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. National Bankshares boosted their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$72.00 to C$73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. TD Securities lowered their target price on 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, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of 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.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Sun Life Financial stock opened at C$78.09 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 65.29, a quick ratio of 84,866.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.77. The firm has a market capitalization of C$45.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.79, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average of C$72.75 and a 200-day moving average of C$70.71. Sun Life Financial has a 1 year low of C$61.84 and a 1 year high of C$78.85.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 12th. The financial services provider reported C$1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$1.58 by C$0.13. The firm had revenue of C$8.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$9.18 billion. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 9.90% and a return on equity of 13.65%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial will post 7.3314607 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.36%.

Insider Activity

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

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.