Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$84.64.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. CIBC increased their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$90.00 to C$96.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$82.00 to C$87.00 in a research note on Monday. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$81.00 to C$87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$90.00 to C$94.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$78.00 to C$82.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 1.3 %

Sun Life Financial stock opened at C$84.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of C$84.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$76.37. The stock has a market capitalization of C$48.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.77, a quick ratio of 84,866.00 and a current ratio of 65.29. Sun Life Financial has a 52 week low of C$64.38 and a 52 week high of C$88.54.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 61.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kevin Strain sold 85,943 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$84.71, for a total value of C$7,280,231.53. Also, Senior Officer Linda Dougherty acquired 5,800 shares of Sun Life Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of C$84.83 per share, with a total value of C$492,014.00. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

Sun Life Financial is one of Canada’s Big Three life insurance companies along with Great-West Lifeco and Manulife. Sun Life provides insurance, retirement, and wealth-management services to individual and corporate customers in Canada, the United States, and Asia. It also owns MFS Investment Management, a Boston-based asset-management firm.