Brokerages Set Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) PT at $84.67

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $84.6667.

SLF has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Argus set a $81.00 price objective on Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE SLF opened at $79.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $74.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.94. Sun Life Financial has a twelve month low of $56.22 and a twelve month high of $80.36.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $925.99 million. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 17.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. Research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial will post 5.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were given a $0.96 dividend. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 72.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vigilare Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $202,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC raised its position in Sun Life Financial by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 12,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $809,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 15.1% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 33.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 83,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,243,000 after purchasing an additional 20,993 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

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.