Short Interest in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Grows By 47.0%

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF was the target of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,440,000 shares, a growth of 47.0% from the January 15th total of 1,660,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 642,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days. Currently, 0.4% of the company's stock are sold short.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

SLF stock traded down $0.82 during trading on Thursday, reaching $55.17. The company had a trading volume of 733,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 620,197. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.30. The company has a market cap of $34.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.03. Sun Life Financial has a twelve month low of $46.41 and a twelve month high of $62.85.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.30. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 16.86%. Sell-side analysts expect that Sun Life Financial will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.5876 dividend. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cormark upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sun Life Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Institutional Trading of Sun Life Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,256,384 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $537,288,000 after acquiring an additional 654,404 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,841,712 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $164,876,000 after acquiring an additional 34,072 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,192,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $427,712,000 after acquiring an additional 703,391 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $878,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,189,939 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $301,047,000 after acquiring an additional 257,178 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.