Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Sun Life Financial has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts, with one sell rating, two hold ratings, and two buy ratings.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.6394 per share, with a dividend yield of 4.4%.
• Sun Life reported earnings of $1.29 per share, meeting analyst estimates, along with revenue of $6.65 billion for the last quarter, which was below expectations.

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the five ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $88.00.

Several brokerages recently commented on SLF. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Monday, May 12th. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Sun Life Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SLF. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the second quarter worth about $362,886,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 2,050,891 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in 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 last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial during the second quarter worth about $87,660,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in 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 last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Thursday, hitting $58.13. 539,449 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 959,124. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $62.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.77. Sun Life Financial has a 1-year low of $51.56 and a 1-year high of $66.81.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.29. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.34 billion. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 17.21%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 27th will be paid a $0.6394 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 27th. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is presently 62.87%.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

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.