Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after CIBC raised their price target on the stock from C$77.00 to C$80.00. CIBC currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Sun Life Financial traded as high as C$16.80 and last traded at C$70.42, with a volume of 488214 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$70.52.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 note on Friday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$82.00 to C$83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Desjardins raised their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$75.00 to C$77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$75.00 to C$76.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$77.18.

Insider Activity at Sun Life Financial

In related news, Senior Officer Daniel Fishbein sold 16,000 shares of Sun Life Financial 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. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 6.81, a quick ratio of 84,866.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 78.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of C$72.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$69.70. The firm has a market cap of C$41.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.96.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported C$1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of C$18.68 billion for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 6.9036382 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.78 dividend. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.40%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is presently 59.32%.

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.