Desjardins Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Stock

Key Points

• Desjardins raised its Sun Life Financial price target from C$120 to C$122 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying roughly 6% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of C$116; recent targets range as high as C$141.
• Sun Life reported quarterly EPS of C$2.02 on C$9.05 billion in revenue, while its shares recently traded at C$115.10—near the company’s 12-month high of C$118.99.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF - Get Free Report) NYSE: SLF had its target price raised by investment analysts at Desjardins from C$120.00 to C$122.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Desjardins' price target would suggest a potential upside of 5.99% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. National Bank Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$108.00 to C$125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$131.00 to C$141.00 in a research report on Monday. Barclays raised their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$96.00 to C$98.00 in a research note on Friday. TD boosted their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$121.00 to C$124.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$98.00 to C$111.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$116.00.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of SLF traded up C$0.85 during midday trading on Monday, reaching C$115.10. The stock had a trading volume of 373,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,919,911. The company's 50-day moving average is C$110.98 and its 200 day moving average is C$98.37. Sun Life Financial has a 12-month low of C$78.06 and a 12-month high of C$118.99. The company has a current ratio of 6.03, a quick ratio of 84,866.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.51. The company has a market capitalization of C$63.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.80.

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 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$9.05 billion for the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 9.12%. On average, equities analysts predict that Sun Life Financial will post 6.9230769 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Sun Life Financial

In related news, insider Linda Dougherty sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$101.40, for a total transaction of C$354,900.00. Also, insider Jacques Jr. Goulet sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$97.80, for a total value of C$3,423,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$103,081.20. The trade was a 97.08% decrease in their position. Insiders sold a total of 366,323 shares of company stock valued at $36,848,394 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Sun Life Financial

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. Sun Life generates about a third of its profit from asset-management operations.

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