Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average of $69.42

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$69.42 and traded as high as C$70.33. Sun Life Financial shares last traded at C$70.30, with a volume of 1,084,115 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SLF. National Bankshares raised their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$71.00 to C$72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$82.00 to C$83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of 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 raised their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$75.00 to C$76.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$75.00 to C$77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$76.82.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of C$40.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.96. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is C$72.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$69.45.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported C$1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$1.59 by C$0.09. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 10.26% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The business had revenue of C$18.68 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 6.9036382 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 59.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sun Life Financial

In other Sun Life Financial news, Senior Officer Daniel Fishbein sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$74.45, for a total transaction of C$1,191,120.00. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.