Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Sunday.

SLF has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLF opened at $63.57 on Friday. Sun Life Financial has a one year low of $52.44 and a one year high of $69.67. The company has a market cap of $35.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.46.

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

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.36%.

Institutional Trading of Sun Life Financial

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 68.4% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 184.1% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tobam acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter valued at $44,000. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.