Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Price Target Raised to C$89.00

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) had its price target upped by Jefferies Financial Group from C$81.00 to C$89.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on SLF. National Bankshares raised their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$72.00 to C$73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Evercore lowered their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$75.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. TD Securities reduced their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$73.00 to C$72.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Barclays set a C$76.00 target price on Sun Life Financial and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$76.82.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock opened at C$78.90 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.77, a current ratio of 65.29 and a quick ratio of 84,866.00. Sun Life Financial has a one year low of C$61.84 and a one year high of C$79.45. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is C$74.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$70.99. The stock has a market capitalization of C$45.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.94.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The financial services provider reported C$1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$1.58 by C$0.13. The company had revenue of C$8.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$9.18 billion. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 9.90% and a return on equity of 13.65%. Analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial will post 6.9230769 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is 61.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephanie Coyles purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of C$70.00 per share, with a total value of C$35,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$35,000. In other Sun Life Financial news, Director Stephanie Coyles bought 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of C$70.00 per share, for a total transaction of C$35,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$35,000. Also, Senior Officer Linda Dougherty sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$75.30, for a total transaction of C$150,590.00. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.