Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF) - What Are Brokerages Saying About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Twelve brokerages rate Sun Life Financial “Hold” on average, with a mean one-year price target of $103.50; several firms recently downgraded their ratings.
• Sun Life reported third-quarter EPS of $1.47, slightly above the $1.45 consensus, although reported profit fell 29%.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend by 4.1% to C$1 per share, equivalent to C$4 annually and a reported 5.6% yield.

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF have been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $103.50.

SLF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus lifted their price target on Sun Life Financial from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. National Bank Financial lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (a)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th.

Key Stories Impacting Sun Life Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting Sun Life Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sun Life reported third-quarter EPS of $1.47, slightly above the $1.45 consensus estimate. Underlying earnings per share also rose, despite lower reported profit. Sun Life Financial Q3 Underlying EPS Rises
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its quarterly dividend by 4.1% to $1 per share, signaling continued cash returns to shareholders. Sun Life Financial Raises Dividend by 4.1%
• Neutral Sentiment: Sun Life set a target of a 35% or higher FRE margin for GreenOak, highlighting a focus on improving the business’s profitability. Sun Life targets GreenOak FRE margin of 35%+
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms lowered their ratings: TD Securities moved Sun Life from “strong-buy” to “hold,” TD Cowen from “buy” to “hold,” and National Bank Financial from “outperform” to “sector perform.” The downgrades may signal reduced optimism about near-term upside. TD Cowen downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Reported third-quarter profit fell 29%, tempering the earnings beat. Shares also moved below their 200-day moving average, a technical signal that can add to selling pressure. Sun Life Q3 Profit Falls 29% Shares cross below 200-day moving average

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $81,587,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,888,000. Korea Investment CORP acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,531,000. Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,637,000. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter worth $78,481,000. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company's stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

SLF opened at $71.54 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $39.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.59, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.86. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $79.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.68. Sun Life Financial has a twelve month low of $57.22 and a twelve month high of $84.38.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.02. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 17.96%. The business had revenue of $986.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $986.89 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial will post 5.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 25th will be given a dividend of C$1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 25th. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of C$0.96. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.02%.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial Inc is a Canadian financial services company that provides insurance, wealth management and asset management services. Founded in 1865 as Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, it has grown into an international business serving individual, workplace and institutional clients.

The company offers life, health and dental insurance, disability coverage and group benefits, as well as savings, retirement and investment products. Its asset management businesses provide investment management services to individuals and institutions.

Sun Life serves clients in Canada, the United States and markets across Asia, and its asset management operations have a global reach.

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