Analysts Set Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Price Target at $88.00

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $88.00.

SLF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut Sun Life Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. National Bank Financial cut Sun Life Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Sun Life Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.1%

Sun Life Financial stock opened at $58.13 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $32.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.58 and a 200-day moving average of $59.78. Sun Life Financial has a 52 week low of $51.56 and a 52 week high of $66.81.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.29. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.34 billion. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sun Life Financial will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.6394 per share. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 27th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLF. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 130.6% in the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 164.5% in the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 53.2% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 62.8% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tobam bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter valued at $44,000. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

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.