Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

SLF has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. National Bank Financial reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of SLF opened at $65.56 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.11. Sun Life Financial has a 1-year low of $52.44 and a 1-year high of $69.67. The stock has a market cap of $36.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.90 and a beta of 0.88.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $973.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $973.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 8.48%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sun Life Financial will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Sun Life Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter worth $398,037,000. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 86.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,952,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $246,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834,772 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial during the second quarter worth about $87,660,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 5,991,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $373,984,000 after buying an additional 1,277,583 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 123.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,245,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,339,000 after buying an additional 1,240,241 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

Sun Life Financial Inc, founded in 1865 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, is an international financial services organization that provides a range of insurance, wealth management and asset management solutions. The company serves individual and institutional clients, offering products designed to protect against life and health risks, help clients save for retirement, and manage investments on behalf of customers and third parties.

Core business activities include life and health insurance, group benefits for employers, retirement and pension products, and wealth management services such as mutual funds and segregated fund solutions.