Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.30 EPS

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF released its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.30, Zacks reports. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.44% and a net margin of 7.32%.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 0.2 %

Sun Life Financial stock traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $55.17. 858,344 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 554,788. The firm has a market cap of $34.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $58.78 and a 200 day moving average of $57.18. Sun Life Financial has a 12 month low of $46.41 and a 12 month high of $62.85.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.5876 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.26%. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is currently 57.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLF has been the subject of several recent research reports. National Bank Financial raised Sun Life Financial from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com cut Sun Life Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

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.