Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Hits New 1-Year High at $77.15

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as C$77.15 and last traded at C$76.89, with a volume of 320785 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$76.69.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SLF shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Evercore lowered their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$75.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. TD Securities reduced their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$73.00 to C$72.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$78.00 to C$81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Barclays set a C$76.00 price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$76.09.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of C$44.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.93. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is C$70.75 and its 200-day moving average is C$70.38.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 12th. The financial services provider reported C$1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$1.58 by C$0.13. The business had revenue of C$8.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$9.18 billion. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 9.90%. Equities research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 7.379822 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 28th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Senior Officer Daniel Fishbein sold 15,999 shares of Sun Life Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$71.40, for a total transaction of C$1,142,323.80. In related news, Senior Officer Daniel Fishbein sold 15,999 shares of Sun Life Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$71.40, for a total transaction of C$1,142,323.80. Also, Director Stephanie Coyles bought 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 C$35,000. 0.03% of the stock is 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.