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

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Scotia raised their price target on the stock from C$110.00 to C$118.00. Scotia currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Sun Life Financial traded as high as C$21.01 and last traded at C$112.84, with a volume of 391745 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$115.27.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on SLF. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$99.00 to C$105.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$98.00 to C$119.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$102.00 to C$116.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$98.00 to C$111.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$108.00 to C$125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$116.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jacques Jr. Goulet sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$97.80, for a total value of C$3,423,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,054 shares in the company, valued at C$103,081.20. This represents a 97.08% decrease in their position. Also, insider Helena Janina Pagano sold 17,283 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$101.32, for a total transaction of C$1,751,113.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$23,100.96. This represents a 98.70% decrease in their position. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 261,579 shares of company stock worth $26,689,273. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Sun Life Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting Sun Life Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target to C$141 from C$131, implying approximately 22.3% upside from the referenced price. BayStreet.ca analyst ratings
• Positive Sentiment: Desjardins increased its target to C$122 from C$120 and maintained or initiated a “buy” rating, implying about 5.8% upside. BayStreet.ca analyst ratings
• Positive Sentiment: Scotia raised its target to C$118 from C$110, while RBC lifted its target to C$119 from C$98. Both analysts retained “sector perform” ratings, indicating improved valuation expectations but no strong bullish conviction. BayStreet.ca analyst ratings
• Neutral Sentiment: Separate reports cited price-target increases to C$124 and C$98. The differing targets highlight a wide range of analyst expectations for Sun Life’s fair value. Sun Life Financial price target raised to C$124 Sun Life Financial price target raised to C$98
• Negative Sentiment: Three of the reported recommendations are “sector perform,” and the C$98 target is below the referenced share price. This may be limiting enthusiasm and helping explain the stock’s recent decrease despite the target hikes.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of C$111.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$98.57. The stock has a market cap of C$62.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 34.34, a quick ratio of 84,866.00 and a current ratio of 27.38.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported C$2.02 earnings per share for the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 13.89% and a net margin of 8.81%.The firm had revenue of C$9.05 billion for the quarter. Research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 6.9230769 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.37%.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

Sun Life Financial is one of Canada’s Big Three life insurance companies along with Great-West Lifeco and Manulife. Sun Life provides insurance, retirement, and wealth-management services to individual and corporate customers in Canada, the United States, and Asia. It also owns MFS Investment Management, a Boston-based asset-management firm. Sun Life generates about a third of its profit from asset-management operations.