Short Interest in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Grows By 68.0%

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 6,213,718 shares, a growth of 68.0% from the April 30th total of 3,698,593 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 710,364 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SLF. National Bank Financial raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SLF. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter worth $398,037,000. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 86.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,952,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $246,645,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834,772 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 2,187.4% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,601,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531,200 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 5,991,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $373,984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277,583 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 123.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,245,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $140,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240,241 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SLF opened at $72.90 on Friday. Sun Life Financial has a fifty-two week low of $56.22 and a fifty-two week high of $74.16. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.97. The company has a market capitalization of $40.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79 and a beta of 0.89.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 7.85%.The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $925.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial will post 5.72 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.68%.

About Sun Life Financial

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.