Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Stock Price Down 7.9% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Sun Life Financial's shares fell by 7.9% to C$77.86, with trading volume down 78% from average levels.
• Analysts have mixed ratings, with Barclays updating their view to a "strong sell", while TD Securities raised their target price to C$86.00 with a "hold" rating.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.88 per share, indicating an annualized yield of 4.5% and a payout ratio of 48.87%.

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF - Get Free Report) NYSE: SLF shares fell 7.9% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as C$77.86 and last traded at C$77.86. 457,879 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 2,071,081 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$84.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on SLF. TD Securities increased their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$83.00 to C$86.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. National Bankshares lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from C$93.00 to C$87.00 in a report on Friday. CIBC dropped their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$94.00 to C$89.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$82.00 to C$88.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$87.63.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 7.9%

The company's fifty day moving average price is C$86.65 and its 200-day moving average price is C$83.55. The stock has a market capitalization of C$44.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 84,866.00, a current ratio of 92.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.00.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is 48.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sun Life Financial

In other news, Director Kevin Strain purchased 3,850 shares of Sun Life Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of C$89.10 per share, with a total value of C$343,035.00. Also, Senior Officer Daniel Fishbein sold 37,662 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$87.60, for a total transaction of C$3,299,191.20. Insiders have sold a total of 188,721 shares of company stock valued at $16,554,701 over the last ninety days. 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.