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

Key Points

• Sun Life Financial hit a new 52-week high after National Bank Financial raised its price target from C$108 to C$125 and kept an outperform rating.
• Several analysts have been adjusting their views on the stock, with Jefferies also lifting its target to C$131, while the consensus rating remains Moderate Buy with an average price target of C$109.36.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to C$0.96, annualizing to C$3.84 per share for a 3.3% yield, following a strong quarterly earnings report.

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF - Get Free Report) NYSE: SLF hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after National Bank Financial raised their price target on the stock from C$108.00 to C$125.00. National Bank Financial currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Sun Life Financial traded as high as C$116.12 and last traded at C$115.86, with a volume of 284491 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$114.76.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Evercore cut shares of Sun Life Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a C$111.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$99.00 to C$105.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$84.00 to C$85.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Desjardins set a C$101.00 price objective on Sun Life Financial and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$115.00 to C$131.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$109.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sun Life Financial

In other Sun Life Financial news, insider Manjit Singh sold 188,312 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at C$56,450.40. This represents a 99.71% decrease in their position. Also, insider Helena Janina Pagano sold 17,283 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 25th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at C$23,100.96. The trade was a 98.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. In the last three months, insiders have sold 380,998 shares of company stock valued at $38,271,605. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of C$107.45 and a 200-day moving average price of C$96.12. 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 firm has a market cap of C$64.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.79.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF - Get Free Report) NYSE: SLF last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported C$1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 12.89%. The firm had revenue of C$8.73 billion during the quarter. On average, analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. 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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