Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Sun Life Financial Inc. has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from eight brokerages, with a target price of C$88.38.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.84 to $0.88, resulting in a dividend yield of 4.11%.
• Insiders sold a total of 188,721 shares valued at over $16.5 million in the last quarter, with 0.03% of the stock currently owned by insiders.

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF - Get Free Report) NYSE: SLF have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is C$88.38.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Securities lifted their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$83.00 to C$86.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays cut Sun Life Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. CIBC lowered their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$94.00 to C$89.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. National Bankshares reduced their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$94.00 to C$93.00 in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$96.00 to C$90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 21st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kevin Strain bought 3,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$89.10 per share, for a total transaction of C$343,035.00. Also, Senior Officer Jacques Jr. Goulet sold 44,199 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$88.17, for a total value of C$3,897,025.83. Insiders have sold 188,721 shares of company stock worth $16,554,701 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Sun Life Financial stock traded up C$0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting C$85.49. 1,095,579 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,080,490. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.00, a current ratio of 92.19 and a quick ratio of 84,866.00. The stock has a market cap of C$48.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of C$87.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$83.59. Sun Life Financial has a fifty-two week low of C$64.38 and a fifty-two week high of C$91.11.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 28th. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.87%.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial is one of Canada's Big Three life insurance companies along with Great-West Lifeco and Manulife. Sun Life provides insurance, retirement, and wealth-management services to individual and corporate customers in Canada, the United States, and Asia. It also owns MFS Investment Management, a Boston-based asset-management firm.