Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as C$79.44 and last traded at C$78.87, with a volume of 243845 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$78.70.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. National Bankshares lifted their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$72.00 to C$73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Evercore decreased their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$75.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. TD Securities cut their price target on shares of 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 price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$76.09.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of C$45.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of C$73.35 and a 200 day moving average of C$70.78. 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 (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 12th. The financial services provider reported C$1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$1.58 by C$0.13. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 9.90% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The company had revenue of C$8.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$9.18 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 7.3314607 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Sun Life Financial

In other Sun Life Financial news, Senior Officer Daniel Fishbein sold 15,999 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$71.40, for a total transaction of C$1,142,323.80. In other Sun Life Financial news, Director Stephanie Coyles bought 500 shares of Sun Life Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were acquired 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. Also, Senior Officer Daniel Fishbein sold 15,999 shares of Sun Life Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$71.40, for a total value of C$1,142,323.80. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.