Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF - Get Free Report) NYSE: SLF has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$84.18.

A number of research firms have recently commented on SLF. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$85.00 to C$96.00 in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$78.00 to C$82.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays raised their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$79.00 to C$82.00 in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$90.00 to C$94.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Securities raised their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$81.00 to C$87.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.2 %

Sun Life Financial stock traded up C$0.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting C$85.05. 1,313,106 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,016,120. Sun Life Financial has a 1-year low of C$64.38 and a 1-year high of C$86.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$78.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$72.32. The company has a current ratio of 65.29, a quick ratio of 84,866.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.77. The stock has a market cap of C$49.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.94.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be given a $0.84 dividend. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.36%.

Insider Activity

In other Sun Life Financial news, Senior Officer Linda Dougherty sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$75.30, for a total value of C$150,590.00. Also, Director Kevin Strain sold 85,943 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$84.71, for a total value of C$7,280,231.53. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Sun Life Financial

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.