Desjardins Predicts Higher Earnings for Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF - Stock analysts at Desjardins increased their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, July 10th. Desjardins analyst D. Young now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings of $5.33 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $5.22. The consensus estimate for Sun Life Financial's current full-year earnings is $5.19 per share. Desjardins also issued estimates for Sun Life Financial's FY2026 earnings at $5.69 EPS.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.05. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 7.47%. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on SLF. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Barclays downgraded Sun Life Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of SLF traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $62.22. The stock had a trading volume of 446,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 629,049. Sun Life Financial has a 52 week low of $46.41 and a 52 week high of $66.81. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $63.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.50. The company has a market capitalization of $35.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.91.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.6332 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 28th. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is 64.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SLF. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter worth $382,176,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 282.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,776,920 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $159,006,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,891 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 47.2% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,221,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $241,643,000 after purchasing an additional 1,353,508 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2,071.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,350,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $80,160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288,545 shares during the period. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1,002.9% during the first quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,120,888 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,216,000 after buying an additional 1,019,254 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.