Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Royal Bank Of Canada

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. National Bankshares restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Cibc Captl Mkts cut shares of Sun Life Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.50.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SLF opened at $58.54 on Friday. Sun Life Financial has a 52 week low of $52.44 and a 52 week high of $66.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $60.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.34. The firm has a market cap of $32.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.90.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $944.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $944.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 7.59%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Sun Life Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Syon Capital LLC grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 12,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $724,000 after buying an additional 3,249 shares in the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Sun Life Financial by 5.7% during the third quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 671,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,312,000 after acquiring an additional 36,204 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Sun Life Financial by 9.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,733,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,120,000 after acquiring an additional 243,323 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,089 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,326,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 24,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 5,341 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

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.