Cormark Expects Increased Earnings for Sun Life Financial

Key Points

• Cormark has increased its FY2025 earnings per share estimate for Sun Life Financial to $5.31, slightly above the previous forecast of $5.28 and higher than the consensus estimate of $5.19.
• Sun Life Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6394 per share, leading to an annualized dividend yield of 4.5%.
• Institutional investors own 52.26% of Sun Life Financial's stock, with several hedge funds recently increasing their holdings in the company.

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF - Analysts at Cormark upped their FY2025 earnings estimates for Sun Life Financial in a research report issued on Friday, August 8th. Cormark analyst L. Persaud now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings of $5.31 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $5.28. The consensus estimate for Sun Life Financial's current full-year earnings is $5.19 per share. Cormark also issued estimates for Sun Life Financial's FY2026 earnings at $5.76 EPS.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.34 billion. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 17.08%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on SLF. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Monday, May 12th. National Bank Financial lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLF traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $57.61. The company had a trading volume of 541,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 685,417. Sun Life Financial has a one year low of $49.35 and a one year high of $66.81. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $63.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.90.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 130.6% during the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 62.8% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 578 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 164.5% during the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 619 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Tobam acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the second quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 53.2% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 665 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 27th will be issued a $0.6394 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 27th. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.12%.

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.