Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

SLF has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Monday, July 6th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, May 8th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.67.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Sun Life Financial stock opened at $82.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $45.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.18 and a beta of 0.88. Sun Life Financial has a 1-year low of $56.22 and a 1-year high of $82.44. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.56.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $925.99 million. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 7.85%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Sun Life Financial will post 5.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Sun Life Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the first quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 68.4% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. 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.