Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$76.09.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$80.00 to C$79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 13th. TD Securities lowered their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$75.00 to C$71.00 in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Evercore lowered their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$78.00 to C$76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$77.00 to C$76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$73.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 13th.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

SLF stock opened at C$65.95 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of C$69.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$70.28. The company has a quick ratio of 84,866.00, a current ratio of 56.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.46. The stock has a market cap of C$38.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.96. Sun Life Financial has a 52-week low of C$61.84 and a 52-week high of C$74.94.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported C$1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$1.64 by C($0.14). The business had revenue of C$6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$9.96 billion. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 10.12%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial will post 6.3499079 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 29th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.91%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is presently 62.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sun Life Financial news, Director Stephanie Coyles bought 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$69.15 per share, for a total transaction of C$62,235.00. In other Sun Life Financial news, Director Stephanie Coyles bought 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$69.15 per share, for a total transaction of C$62,235.00. Also, Director Kevin Strain purchased 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of C$67.48 per share, for a total transaction of C$809,760.00. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by 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.