Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF - Get Free Report) NYSE: SLF have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$76.82.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. National Bankshares upped their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$72.00 to C$73.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Barclays set a C$76.00 price target on shares of Sun Life Financial and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$81.00 to C$89.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore cut their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$75.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, TD Securities cut their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$73.00 to C$72.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 13th.

Insider Activity

In other Sun Life Financial news, Director Stephanie Coyles bought 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$70.00 per share, for a total transaction of C$35,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$35,000. In other Sun Life Financial news, Director Stephanie Coyles bought 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$70.00 per share, for a total transaction of C$35,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$35,000. Also, Senior Officer Daniel Fishbein sold 15,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$71.40, for a total value of C$1,142,323.80. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

SLF stock traded down C$0.14 during trading on Thursday, hitting C$78.38. The company had a trading volume of 361,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,021,944. The firm has a market capitalization of C$45.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of C$75.52 and a 200 day moving average of C$71.12. Sun Life Financial has a fifty-two week low of C$61.84 and a fifty-two week high of C$79.45. 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.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF - Get Free Report) NYSE: SLF last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 12th. The financial services provider reported C$1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$1.58 by C$0.13. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 9.90% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The business had revenue of C$8.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$9.18 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial will post 6.9230769 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio is 61.36%.

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.