Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) Reaches New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $68.35 and last traded at $67.88, with a volume of 373349 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $64.91.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is 69.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SLF shares. National Bank Financial reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.3%

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.82 and a 200-day moving average of $60.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.67 and a beta of 0.88.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $973.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.58% and a net margin of 8.48%.During the same period last year, the company earned $1.68 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SLF. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter worth $244,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 113.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 4,270 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $204,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 20.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 30,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,023,000 after purchasing an additional 5,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 27.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396 shares in 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.