Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$84.18.

SLF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$81.00 to C$87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$85.00 to C$96.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Cormark raised their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$82.00 to C$85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$90.00 to C$94.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$90.00 to C$96.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Sun Life Financial stock opened at C$85.22 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is C$82.56 and its 200 day moving average is C$74.59. Sun Life Financial has a one year low of C$64.38 and a one year high of C$88.54. The firm has a market cap of C$49.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.94. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sun Life Financial

In related news, Director Kevin Strain sold 85,943 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$84.71, for a total value 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 purchased at an average price of C$84.83 per share, for a total transaction of C$492,014.00. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.