Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) Price Target Raised to $88.00

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) had its target price hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from $82.00 to $88.00 in a research report report published on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

SLF has been the topic of a number of other reports. Cormark upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. National Bank Financial upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SLF opened at $62.63 on Monday. Sun Life Financial has a fifty-two week low of $46.41 and a fifty-two week high of $63.34. The company’s fifty day moving average is $57.35 and its 200 day moving average is $58.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.54 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.05. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.6332 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 62.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,192,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $427,712,000 after purchasing an additional 703,391 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,596,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,743,000 after purchasing an additional 15,908 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 295.5% in the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,911,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,453,000 after buying an additional 1,427,815 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $526,000. 52.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.