Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts hold a mixed view: Sun Life Financial has a consensus “Hold” rating from 13 firms, with six buys, six holds and one sell. The average 12-month price target is C$116.00.
• Shares opened at C$112.33, near their 52-week high, while the company reported quarterly EPS of C$2.02 on C$9.05 billion in revenue. Sun Life also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.96 per share, representing a 3.4% annualized yield.
• Insiders have been substantial sellers: Executives and directors sold 179,448 shares worth approximately $19.9 million over the past 90 days, leaving insiders with ownership of just 0.03% of the stock.

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF - Get Free Report) NYSE: SLF has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the thirteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$116.00.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SLF. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$98.00 to C$111.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Desjardins increased their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$120.00 to C$122.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. TD raised their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$121.00 to C$124.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$98.00 to C$119.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$131.00 to C$141.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

SLF stock opened at C$112.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 34.34, a current ratio of 27.38 and a quick ratio of 84,866.00. The firm has a market capitalization of C$62.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.70. The business's 50-day moving average is C$112.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$103.75. Sun Life Financial has a 1 year low of C$79.99 and a 1 year high of C$118.99.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF - Get Free Report) NYSE: SLF last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported C$2.02 EPS for the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 13.89% and a net margin of 8.81%.The business had revenue of C$9.05 billion during the quarter. Analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial will post 6.9230769 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 26th. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is 62.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kevin Strain sold 101,580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$110.86, for a total value of C$11,261,158.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 42,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$4,656,120. This represents a 70.75% decrease in their position. Also, insider Jacques Jr. Goulet sold 36,805 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$111.24, for a total value of C$4,094,188.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,063 shares in the company, valued at C$118,248.12. This trade represents a 97.19% decrease in their position. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 179,448 shares of company stock worth $19,874,331. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing asset management, wealth, insurance and health solutions to individual and institutional Clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of March 31, 2025, Sun Life had total assets under management of $1.55 trillion.

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