Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$84.18.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Cormark lifted their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$82.00 to C$85.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$90.00 to C$96.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$79.00 to C$82.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$78.00 to C$82.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$90.00 to C$94.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th.

Insider Activity at Sun Life Financial

In other news, Director Kevin Strain sold 85,943 shares of the 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 bought 5,800 shares of Sun Life Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of C$84.83 per share, for a total transaction of C$492,014.00. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

Sun Life Financial stock opened at C$85.99 on Friday. The company has a market cap of C$49.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of C$81.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$74.15. 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. Sun Life Financial has a 1-year low of C$64.38 and a 1-year high of C$88.54.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is presently 61.36%.

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.