Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$85.47 and traded as high as C$87.12. Sun Life Financial shares last traded at C$86.81, with a volume of 918,990 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on SLF shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$97.00 to C$103.00 in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$84.00 to C$83.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce boosted their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$93.00 to C$95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped 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 report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Desjardins raised their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$96.00 to C$101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$96.44.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.2%

The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 84,866.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 74.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is C$88.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$85.47. The company has a market capitalization of C$48.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.76.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported C$1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The business had revenue of C$8.67 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 6.9230769 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.24%.

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.