Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Price Target Raised to C$89.00

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) had its target price lifted by Jefferies Financial Group from C$81.00 to C$89.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on SLF. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Evercore dropped their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$75.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. National Bankshares raised their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$72.00 to C$73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. TD Securities dropped their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$73.00 to C$72.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays set a C$76.00 price target on shares of Sun Life Financial and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$76.82.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock opened at C$78.90 on Wednesday. Sun Life Financial has a fifty-two week low of C$61.84 and a fifty-two week high of C$79.45. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of C$45.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50 day moving average price is C$74.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$70.99.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The financial services provider reported C$1.71 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of C$8.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$9.18 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial will post 6.9230769 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stephanie Coyles bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of C$70.00 per share, with a total value of C$35,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$35,000. In related news, Director Stephanie Coyles purchased 500 shares of Sun Life Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$70.00 per share, for a total transaction of C$35,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$35,000. Also, Senior Officer Linda Dougherty sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$75.30, for a total transaction of C$150,590.00. 0.03% of the stock is owned by 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.