Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$84.18.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$81.00 to C$87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$78.00 to C$82.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$79.00 to C$82.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$90.00 to C$96.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Cormark boosted their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$82.00 to C$85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

SLF opened at C$85.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of C$81.97 and a 200-day moving average price of C$74.15. The stock has a market capitalization of C$49.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 84,866.00, a current ratio of 65.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.77. Sun Life Financial has a twelve month low of C$64.38 and a twelve month high of C$88.54.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 61.36%.

Insider Transactions at Sun Life Financial

In other news, Director Kevin Strain sold 85,943 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$84.71, for a total transaction of C$7,280,231.53. Also, Senior Officer Linda Dougherty bought 5,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of C$84.83 per share, with a total value of C$492,014.00. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial Inc, a financial services company, provides savings, retirement, and pension products worldwide. The company operates in five segments: Asset Management, Canada, U.S., Asia, and Corporate. It offers various insurance products, such as term and permanent life; personal health, which includes prescription drugs, dental, and vision care; critical illness; long-term care; and disability, as well as reinsurance.