Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Sun Life Financial shares hit a new 52-week high after Scotiabank raised its price target to C$111 from C$98, while maintaining a sector perform rating. The stock traded as high as C$115.13 during the session.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but generally positive, with the consensus rating at Moderate Buy and an average target price of C$105.09. Several firms recently lifted targets, though Evercore downgraded the stock to hold.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend to C$0.96 per share, up from C$0.92, for an annualized yield of about 3.3%. Sun Life also reported quarterly EPS of C$1.89 and revenue of C$8.73 billion in its latest earnings release.

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF - Get Free Report) NYSE: SLF shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from C$98.00 to C$111.00. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Sun Life Financial traded as high as C$115.13 and last traded at C$114.82, with a volume of 363628 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$114.20.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$99.00 to C$105.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$103.00 to C$115.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore cut Sun Life Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a C$111.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday. National Bank Financial lowered their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$109.00 to C$108.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upped their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$102.00 to C$116.00 in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of C$105.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sun Life Financial

In related news, insider Helena Janina Pagano sold 17,283 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$101.32, for a total value of C$1,751,113.56. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 228 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$23,100.96. This trade represents a 98.70% decrease in their position. Also, insider Linda Dougherty sold 3,500 shares of Sun Life Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, May 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$101.40, for a total transaction of C$354,900.00. Insiders sold 380,998 shares of company stock worth $38,271,605 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of C$63.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of C$105.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$94.91. The company has a current ratio of 6.03, a quick ratio of 84,866.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.51.

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

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is presently 67.04%.

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

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