Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Sun Life Financial reached a new 52-week high after Scotiabank raised its price target to C$118 from C$110. Analysts’ average target is C$116, with an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus, although several firms maintain “sector perform” or “hold” ratings.
• Insiders sold 261,579 shares worth approximately C$26.7 million over the past quarter, including a transaction in which Manjit Singh reduced his holdings by 99.71%. Insiders collectively own just 0.03% of the company.
• Sun Life reported quarterly EPS of C$2.02 on C$9.05 billion in revenue and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.96 per share, equivalent to a 3.4% annualized yield.

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF - Get Free Report) NYSE: SLF hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Scotia raised their price target on the stock from C$110.00 to C$118.00. Scotia currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Sun Life Financial traded as high as C$21.01 and last traded at C$112.84, with a volume of 391745 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$115.27.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on SLF. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$98.00 to C$119.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$99.00 to C$105.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$98.00 to C$111.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Evercore downgraded 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, July 13th. Finally, TD upped their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$121.00 to C$124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$116.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Manjit Singh sold 188,312 shares of Sun Life Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$103.20, for a total transaction of C$19,433,798.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 547 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$56,450.40. This trade represents a 99.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Melissa Jane Kennedy sold 7,366 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$101.49, for a total value of C$747,575.34. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 261,579 shares of company stock worth $26,689,273. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

More Sun Life Financial News

Here are the key news stories impacting Sun Life Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target to C$141 from C$131, implying approximately 22.3% upside from the referenced price. BayStreet.ca analyst ratings
• Positive Sentiment: Desjardins increased its target to C$122 from C$120 and maintained or initiated a “buy” rating, implying about 5.8% upside. BayStreet.ca analyst ratings
• Positive Sentiment: Scotia raised its target to C$118 from C$110, while RBC lifted its target to C$119 from C$98. Both analysts retained “sector perform” ratings, indicating improved valuation expectations but no strong bullish conviction. BayStreet.ca analyst ratings
• Neutral Sentiment: Separate reports cited price-target increases to C$124 and C$98. The differing targets highlight a wide range of analyst expectations for Sun Life’s fair value. Sun Life Financial price target raised to C$124 Sun Life Financial price target raised to C$98
• Negative Sentiment: Three of the reported recommendations are “sector perform,” and the C$98 target is below the referenced share price. This may be limiting enthusiasm and helping explain the stock’s recent decrease despite the target hikes.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 2.1%

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of C$111.32 and a 200-day moving average price of C$98.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 34.34, a current ratio of 27.38 and a quick ratio of 84,866.00. The company has a market capitalization of C$62.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.80.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF - Get Free Report) NYSE: SLF last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported C$2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 13.89%. The firm had revenue of C$9.05 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 6.9230769 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.37%.

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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