Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Given New C$131.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) had its price target increased by Jefferies Financial Group from C$115.00 to C$131.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$111.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$102.00 to C$116.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. TD lifted their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$107.00 to C$121.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays upped their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$84.00 to C$85.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, National Bank Financial dropped their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$109.00 to C$108.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$107.82.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.6%

TSE SLF opened at C$114.20 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 84,866.00, a current ratio of 6.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.51. Sun Life Financial has a 52 week low of C$77.38 and a 52 week high of C$115.45. The stock has a market capitalization of C$63.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of C$106.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$95.71.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported C$1.89 earnings per share for the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 12.89%. The business had revenue of C$8.73 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial will post 6.9230769 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is 67.04%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Helena Janina Pagano sold 17,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$101.32, for a total transaction of C$1,751,113.56. Following the transaction, the insider owned 228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$23,100.96. This trade represents a 98.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director Kevin Strain sold 104,744 shares of Sun Life Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$96.99, for a total value of C$10,159,120.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 42,000 shares in the company, valued at C$4,073,580. This trade represents a 71.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 380,998 shares of company stock valued at $38,271,605. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

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.