Short Interest in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Decreases By 72.1%

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,520,000 shares, a decline of 72.1% from the March 15th total of 5,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 715,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLF has been the topic of several recent research 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 raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Cormark raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 28,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,693,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Triasima Portfolio Management inc. lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 47,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,843,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock traded up $0.16 on Tuesday, reaching $56.82. 48,776 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 680,177. Sun Life Financial has a 1-year low of $46.41 and a 1-year high of $62.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $56.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.87. The company has a market cap of $32.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 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, 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.5876 per share. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.16%.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

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.