Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Scotiabank Analyst Says

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) had its target price raised by Scotiabank from C$85.00 to C$96.00 in a research report released on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$79.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$78.00 to C$82.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. CIBC increased their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$90.00 to C$96.00 in a report on Wednesday. Cormark increased their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$82.00 to C$85.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$81.00 to C$89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven 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 a consensus target price of C$84.18.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

SLF traded down C$1.17 during trading on Thursday, reaching C$84.78. 184,864 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,008,130. The business’s 50 day moving average price is C$78.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$72.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.77, a current ratio of 65.29 and a quick ratio of 84,866.00. The company has a market capitalization of C$48.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.94. Sun Life Financial has a 1 year low of C$64.38 and a 1 year high of C$86.39.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 12th. The financial services provider reported C$1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$1.58 by C$0.13. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 9.90%. The business had revenue of C$8.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$9.18 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial will post 6.9230769 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is 61.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Senior Officer Linda Dougherty sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$75.30, for a total transaction of C$150,590.00. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.