Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday after National Bankshares raised their price target on the stock from C$87.00 to C$94.00. The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$84.45 and traded as high as C$86.03. National Bankshares currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Sun Life Financial shares last traded at C$85.48, with a volume of 1,980,383 shares trading hands.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$88.00 to C$84.00 in a report on Monday, August 11th. Argus upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. UBS Group raised shares of Sun Life Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Desjardins upped their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$90.00 to C$94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$89.89.

Insider Activity

In other Sun Life Financial news, insider Thomas Murphy purchased 3,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$79.37 per share, for a total transaction of C$268,973.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 3,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$268,973.75. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Insiders have acquired a total of 4,262 shares of company stock worth $338,105 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 0.7%

The stock has a market cap of C$47.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.00, a quick ratio of 84,866.00 and a current ratio of 92.19. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is C$83.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$84.45.

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 29th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 27th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.75%.

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.