Definity Financial (TSE:DFY) Cut to “Hold” at Cibc World Mkts

Cibc World Mkts lowered shares of Definity Financial (TSE:DFY) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Definity Financial from C$44.00 to C$43.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 13th. Cormark boosted their target price on Definity Financial from C$49.00 to C$51.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Definity Financial from C$58.00 to C$61.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Desjardins lifted their price target on Definity Financial from C$47.00 to C$52.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Definity Financial from C$44.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of C$52.70.

Definity Financial Stock Performance

Shares of DFY traded up C$0.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching C$49.34. 44,011 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 99,936. The firm has a market capitalization of C$5.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.01. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is C$45.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$44.20. Definity Financial has a twelve month low of C$35.48 and a twelve month high of C$50.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38, a current ratio of 7.68 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Definity Financial (TSE:DFY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported C$0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$0.72 by C($0.07). Definity Financial had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 13.00%. The firm had revenue of C$991.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$1 billion. Analysts predict that Definity Financial will post 2.920143 earnings per share for the current year.

Definity Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Definity Financial’s payout ratio is currently 19.34%.

Definity Financial Company Profile

Definity Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, offers property and casualty insurance products in Canada. It provides personal insurance products, including auto, property, general and umbrella liability, and pet insurance products to individuals under the Economical, Sonnet, Family, Petsecure, and Peppermint brands; and commercial insurance products, which include fleet, commercial auto, property, liability, and specialty insurance products to businesses under the Definity Insurance and Economical brand name.