Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Short Interest Update

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,520,000 shares, a decrease of 72.1% from the March 15th total of 5,440,000 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 715,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,841,712 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $164,876,000 after acquiring an additional 34,072 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Sun Life Financial by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,192,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $427,712,000 after purchasing an additional 703,391 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $878,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,596,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $94,743,000 after buying an additional 15,908 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

SLF traded down $0.11 on Friday, reaching $56.40. 505,515 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 683,760. The company has a market cap of $32.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.69, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87. Sun Life Financial has a twelve month low of $46.41 and a twelve month high of $62.85. The company's 50 day moving average is $55.85 and its 200-day moving average is $57.83.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.30. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 16.86%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.5876 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on SLF. StockNews.com cut Sun Life Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Cormark raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

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.