Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Stock Short Interest Declines 36.4%

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,935,950 shares, a decline of 36.4% from the August 31st total of 6,188,802 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 684,978 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.7 days. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on SLF shares. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Evercore cut Sun Life Financial from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.67.

Institutional Trading of Sun Life Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Bancorp Inc ME acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter worth $58,000. 52.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLF traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $78.11. The stock had a trading volume of 100,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 708,162. The firm has a market cap of $43.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.89. Sun Life Financial has a fifty-two week low of $57.22 and a fifty-two week high of $84.38. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.16.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.07. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.96% and a net margin of 7.66%.The business had revenue of $10.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $994.33 million. Equities analysts expect that Sun Life Financial will post 5.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th were paid a dividend of C$0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 26th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.02%.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

Sun Life Financial Inc is a Canadian financial services company that provides insurance, wealth, and asset management products to individuals, businesses, and institutions. The company serves clients through operations in Canada, the United States, and several markets in Asia.

Its insurance offerings include life, health, dental, disability, long-term care, and critical illness coverage, as well as annuities and employee benefits. Sun Life also provides retirement savings and investment products, including mutual funds and other wealth solutions for individuals and workplace plan members.

Through its asset management businesses, Sun Life manages investments for institutional and retail clients across a range of asset classes.