Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the four research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company.

A number of research firms recently commented on SLF. Cormark raised Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLF opened at $55.58 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $58.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.33. The company has a market capitalization of $34.91 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.03. Sun Life Financial has a 12-month low of $46.41 and a 12-month high of $62.85.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.30. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 8.08%. On average, analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.5876 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.23%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.19%.

Institutional Trading of Sun Life Financial

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,256,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $537,288,000 after acquiring an additional 654,404 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 1.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,841,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,876,000 after purchasing an additional 34,072 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,192,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $427,712,000 after purchasing an additional 703,391 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $878,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,189,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,047,000 after buying an additional 257,178 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial Inc, a financial services company, provides savings, retirement, and pension products worldwide. The company operates in five segments: Asset Management, Canada, U.S., Asia, and Corporate. It offers various insurance products, such as term and permanent life; personal health, which includes prescription drugs, dental, and vision care; critical illness; long-term care; and disability, as well as reinsurance.