Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Short Interest Up 35.4% in February

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 16,380,000 shares, an increase of 35.4% from the February 13th total of 12,100,000 shares. Currently, 2.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 738,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 22.2 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 2,747.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SLF traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $56.12. The stock had a trading volume of 78,173 shares, compared to its average volume of 775,755. The firm has a market cap of $35.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04. Sun Life Financial has a 12 month low of $46.41 and a 12 month high of $62.85. The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.94 and a 200 day moving average of $57.85.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.30. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 16.86%. On average, research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.5876 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 60.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on SLF shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Cormark upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.