Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as C$19.20 and last traded at C$89.06, with a volume of 503718 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$88.96.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$95.00 to C$100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$83.00 to C$95.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Desjardins lifted their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$96.00 to C$101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upped their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$93.00 to C$95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$97.00 to C$103.00 in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$96.44.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of C$87.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$84.49. The firm has a market cap of C$49.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.56, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.73. 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 (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported C$1.96 EPS for the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 15.69%. Sell-side analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 6.9230769 EPS for the current year.

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. Sun Life generates about a third of its profit from asset-management operations.