Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$71.12 and traded as high as C$78.60. Sun Life Financial shares last traded at C$78.52, with a volume of 631,908 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SLF. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. TD Securities cut their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$73.00 to C$72.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Evercore decreased their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$75.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$81.00 to C$89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays set a C$76.00 target price on shares of Sun Life Financial and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$76.82.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.3 %

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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is C$75.52 and its 200 day moving average price is C$71.12. The company has a market cap of C$45.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.94.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The financial services provider reported C$1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of C$9.18 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 6.9230769 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Senior Officer Linda Dougherty sold 2,000 shares of the 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. In related news, Senior Officer Daniel Fishbein sold 15,999 shares of Sun Life Financial 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 transaction of C$1,142,323.80. Also, 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. 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.