Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Sun Life Financial from a "Buy" to a "Hold" in a research report issued Sunday.
• The stock's consensus among analysts is an average rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $86.50; ratings mix includes 1 Strong Buy, 4 Buy, 5 Hold and 1 Sell.
• Shares opened at $64.90 (market cap $35.95B, P/E 14.75); the company reported Q4 EPS of $1.41, beating the $1.35 estimate but down from $1.68 a year earlier, and institutional investors own about 52.26% of the stock.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE SLF opened at $64.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $35.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 0.87. The business's 50 day moving average is $64.25 and its 200-day moving average is $61.38. Sun Life Financial has a 1-year low of $52.44 and a 1-year high of $69.67.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $973.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 8.48%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. Analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,884,084 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,615,788,000 after buying an additional 534,772 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $398,037,000. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 6,157,205 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $409,576,000 after acquiring an additional 377,204 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,529,609 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $353,181,000 after acquiring an additional 347,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 86.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,952,646 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $246,645,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834,772 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company's stock.

About Sun Life Financial

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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