Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from C$98.00 to C$111.00. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Sun Life Financial traded as high as C$115.13 and last traded at C$114.82, with a volume of 363628 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$114.20.

SLF has been the subject of a number of other reports. TD upped their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$102.00 to C$107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Desjardins set a C$101.00 target price on shares of Sun Life Financial and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Evercore lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$111.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 13th. National Bank Financial reduced their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$109.00 to C$108.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$84.00 to C$85.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$105.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Linda Dougherty sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$101.40, for a total transaction of C$354,900.00. Also, insider Melissa Jane Kennedy sold 7,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$101.49, for a total transaction of C$747,575.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$1,412,334.84. This represents a 34.61% decrease in their position. Insiders sold 380,998 shares of company stock valued at $38,271,605 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

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. The firm has a market capitalization of C$63.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is C$106.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$95.25.

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 (EPS) for the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 9.12%.The business had revenue of C$8.73 billion during the quarter. Analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 6.9230769 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.04%.

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.