Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Short Interest Up 35.4% in February

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 16,380,000 shares, a growth of 35.4% from the February 13th total of 12,100,000 shares. Currently, 2.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 738,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 22.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Cormark upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2,747.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $101,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 43,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,509,000 after buying an additional 5,086 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 7,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $417,000 after buying an additional 1,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,580,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,778,000 after buying an additional 79,155 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:SLF traded up $1.17 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $56.57. 366,335 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 590,072. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04. Sun Life Financial has a twelve month low of $46.41 and a twelve month high of $62.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $56.94 and a 200 day moving average of $57.85.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.30. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 16.86%. Equities research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.5876 per share. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 60.16%.

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.