Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average of $68.89

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$68.89 and traded as high as C$74.39. Sun Life Financial shares last traded at C$73.91, with a volume of 2,767,124 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SLF. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$75.00 to C$76.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$70.00 to C$80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$62.00 to C$73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Evercore increased their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$76.50.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is C$71.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$68.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 78.47, a current ratio of 6.81 and a quick ratio of 84,866.00. The company has a market cap of C$43.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.97.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported C$1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$1.59 by C$0.09. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 10.26%. The firm had revenue of C$18.68 billion during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 6.8995305 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.22%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sun Life Financial news, Senior Officer Daniel Fishbein sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$74.45, for a total transaction of C$1,191,120.00. 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.