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

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twelve ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $84.6667.

SLF has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Argus set a $81.00 target price on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Evercore downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SLF. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $398,037,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 86.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,952,646 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $246,645,000 after buying an additional 1,834,772 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 2,187.4% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,601,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $100,276,000 after buying an additional 1,531,200 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 5,991,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $373,984,000 after buying an additional 1,277,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 123.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,245,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $140,339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240,241 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE:SLF opened at $82.21 on Thursday. Sun Life Financial has a 12 month low of $56.22 and a 12 month high of $84.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $77.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.03. The firm has a market cap of $45.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19 and a beta of 0.88.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $925.99 million. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 7.85%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial will post 5.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is currently 72.94%.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

Sun Life Financial Inc, founded in 1865 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, is an international financial services organization that provides a range of insurance, wealth management and asset management solutions. The company serves individual and institutional clients, offering products designed to protect against life and health risks, help clients save for retirement, and manage investments on behalf of customers and third parties.

Core business activities include life and health insurance, group benefits for employers, retirement and pension products, and wealth management services such as mutual funds and segregated fund solutions.

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