Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,780,000 shares, a decline of 27.6% from the May 15th total of 12,120,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 634,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 13.8 days. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on SLF shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.3%

Sun Life Financial stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $64.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 64,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 627,228. The company has a market capitalization of $36.31 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.92. Sun Life Financial has a 12 month low of $46.41 and a 12 month high of $65.56. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $61.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.94.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.6332 per share. This represents a $2.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.89%.

Institutional Trading of Sun Life Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 1.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,595,092 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,407,626,000 after buying an additional 361,596 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 2.4% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 16,100,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $921,330,000 after buying an additional 374,682 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 10,338,250 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $591,968,000 after acquiring an additional 846,735 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,454,589 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $562,121,000 after purchasing an additional 198,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 6,748,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $385,740,000 after buying an additional 335,054 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company's stock.

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.

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