Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) Upgraded at Scotiabank

Key Points

• Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) was upgraded to a "hold" rating by Scotiabank, with other analysts providing varied ratings including one sell, two holds, and three buys.
• The company's earnings report showed $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding expectations, alongside revenue of $7.91 billion, which was significantly above estimates of $6.44 billion.
• Recent institutional trading highlights include Vanguard Group increasing its position in Sun Life Financial by 1.5%, now holding over 24.5 million shares.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF was upgraded by stock analysts at Scotiabank to a "hold" rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on SLF. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE SLF opened at $60.38 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.91. Sun Life Financial has a 52-week low of $46.41 and a 52-week high of $66.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $63.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.75.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.05. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Sun Life Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 361,596 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 2.4% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 16,100,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $921,330,000 after acquiring an additional 374,682 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 8.9% during the first 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 position in Sun Life Financial by 2.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 198,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 5.2% during the first 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 acquiring an additional 335,054 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently 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.

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