Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$84.18.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SLF shares. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$85.00 to C$96.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$90.00 to C$96.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$90.00 to C$94.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. TD Securities upped their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$81.00 to C$87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Cormark raised their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$82.00 to C$85.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of SLF opened at C$85.53 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of C$79.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$72.82. The company has a market cap of C$49.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 84,866.00, a current ratio of 65.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.77. Sun Life Financial has a twelve month low of C$64.38 and a twelve month high of C$86.51.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sun Life Financial

In other news, Director Kevin Strain sold 85,943 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$84.71, for a total transaction of C$7,280,231.53. Also, Senior Officer Linda Dougherty purchased 5,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$84.83 per share, for a total transaction of C$492,014.00. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.