Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Short Interest Update

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) saw a large increase in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 5,095,872 shares, an increase of 84.8% from the July 15th total of 2,757,571 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 581,283 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.8 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Sun Life Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SLF. Louisbourg Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 5,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 68.4% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 1.8% during the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 9,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Sun Life Financial by 4.7% during the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Sun Life Financial by 3.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 5,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SLF shares. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Monday, August 10th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Argus set a $81.00 price target on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.33.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SLF traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $81.33. 409,176 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 714,637. The company has a market cap of $45.33 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01 and a beta of 0.88. Sun Life Financial has a 52-week low of $57.22 and a 52-week high of $84.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $79.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.66.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.07. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 17.96%. The firm had revenue of $10.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $994.33 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sun Life Financial will post 5.72 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 26th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.12%.

About Sun Life Financial

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.