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

Key Points

• Sun Life Financial has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from five analysts, with one sell, two hold, and two buy recommendations.
• The average 12-month price target among brokerages is $88.00, following recent adjustments in ratings and price objectives from various institutions.
• In the most recent earnings report, Sun Life Financial reported a $1.29 EPS, meeting analysts' expectations, but fell short on revenue, reporting $6.65 billion against a forecast of $7.34 billion.

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $88.00.

SLF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank upgraded Sun Life Financial to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays lowered Sun Life Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Argus upgraded Sun Life Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, National Bank Financial lowered Sun Life Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SLF stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $59.29. The company had a trading volume of 429,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 607,391. Sun Life Financial has a 12 month low of $52.44 and a 12 month high of $66.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.89. The firm's fifty day moving average is $59.99 and its 200 day moving average is $60.01.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.29. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 7.59%.The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sun Life Financial will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SLF. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $244,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 68.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 493,530 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,286,000 after acquiring an additional 200,567 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 9,152 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 1,691 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 155.6% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 26,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,552,000 after acquiring an additional 15,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 4,885 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116 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.