Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of C$0.92 on March 31st

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of 0.92 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th.

Sun Life Financial has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 11 years. Sun Life Financial has a payout ratio of 47.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Sun Life Financial to earn $5.67 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 47.3%.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLF opened at $66.36 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50-day moving average is $63.59 and its 200 day moving average is $60.91. Sun Life Financial has a fifty-two week low of $52.44 and a fifty-two week high of $69.67.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.06. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The business had revenue of $973.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $973.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on SLF. National Bank Financial reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

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.