Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Plans $0.59 Quarterly Dividend

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 13th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of 0.5876 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th.

Sun Life Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 11.9% annually over the last three years. Sun Life Financial has a payout ratio of 41.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Sun Life Financial to earn $5.22 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.34 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 44.8%.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock opened at $55.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $34.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $59.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.10. Sun Life Financial has a one year low of $46.41 and a one year high of $62.85.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.30. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.44% and a net margin of 7.32%. Sell-side analysts predict that Sun Life Financial will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. National Bank Financial upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com lowered Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.