Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Stock Price Expected to Rise, CIBC Analyst Says

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) had its price target boosted by CIBC from C$80.00 to C$90.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

SLF has been the topic of several other research reports. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$73.00 to C$85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Evercore reduced their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$75.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays set a C$76.00 price objective on Sun Life Financial and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$81.00 to C$89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$78.82.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

TSE SLF opened at C$77.63 on Wednesday. Sun Life Financial has a 12-month low of C$64.36 and a 12-month high of C$79.45. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is C$76.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$71.45. The company has a current ratio of 65.29, a quick ratio of 84,866.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.77. The firm has a market capitalization of C$44.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.94.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The financial services provider reported C$1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$1.58 by C$0.13. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 9.90%. The company had revenue of C$8.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$9.18 billion. Analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial will post 6.9230769 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 28th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sun Life Financial

In other news, Senior Officer Daniel Fishbein sold 15,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$71.40, for a total transaction of C$1,142,323.80. In related news, Senior Officer Daniel Fishbein sold 15,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$71.40, for a total value of C$1,142,323.80. Also, Senior Officer Linda Dougherty sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$75.30, for a total value of C$150,590.00. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.