Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Sun Life Financial shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as C$120.40 and last at C$116.62, with a market capitalization of approximately C$64.33 billion.
• Analyst sentiment is positive overall, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of C$109.36; Jefferies and TD recently issued “Buy” ratings with targets of C$131 and C$121, respectively.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.96 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 3.3%. However, insiders sold roughly 381,000 shares worth C$38.3 million over the past three months.

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF - Get Free Report) NYSE: SLF hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as C$20.40 and last traded at C$116.62, with a volume of 329101 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$115.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on SLF. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$99.00 to C$105.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays upped their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$84.00 to C$85.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$115.00 to C$131.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Evercore downgraded Sun Life Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a C$111.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, TD boosted their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$107.00 to C$121.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$109.36.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of C$64.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 84,866.00, a current ratio of 6.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.51. The company's 50 day moving average price is C$108.86 and its 200 day moving average price is C$96.95.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF - Get Free Report) NYSE: SLF last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported C$1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$8.73 billion during the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 9.12%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 6.9230769 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.04%.

Insider Activity at Sun Life Financial

In other Sun Life Financial news, insider Melissa Jane Kennedy sold 7,366 shares of Sun Life Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$101.49, for a total transaction of C$747,575.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$1,412,334.84. This trade represents a 34.61% decrease in their position. Also, insider Linda Dougherty sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$101.40, for a total value of C$354,900.00. Insiders sold 380,998 shares of company stock worth $38,271,605 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

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. Sun Life generates about a third of its profit from asset-management operations.

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