Brokerages Set Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) Price Target at C$76.09

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$76.09.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SLF shares. National Bankshares decreased their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$73.00 to C$72.00 in a research note on Friday, May 10th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$80.00 to C$79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Evercore cut their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$78.00 to C$76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 13th. CIBC boosted their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$77.00 to C$80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$73.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 13th.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

SLF opened at C$67.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of C$38.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average of C$68.96 and a 200-day moving average of C$70.21. Sun Life Financial has a 52-week low of C$61.84 and a 52-week high of C$74.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.46, a quick ratio of 84,866.00 and a current ratio of 56.69.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported C$1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$1.64 by C($0.14). The company had revenue of C$6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$9.96 billion. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 10.12%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial will post 6.3499079 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 29th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 29th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.84%. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 62.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kevin Strain purchased 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$67.48 per share, with a total value of C$809,760.00. In other Sun Life Financial news, Director Kevin Strain acquired 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$67.48 per share, with a total value of C$809,760.00. Also, Director Stephanie Coyles acquired 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$69.15 per share, for a total transaction of C$62,235.00. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.