Jefferies Financial Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Stock

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) had its price objective hoisted by Jefferies Financial Group from C$90.00 to C$94.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,BayStreet.CA reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on SLF. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$79.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$90.00 to C$96.00 in a research note on Wednesday. National Bankshares boosted their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$72.00 to C$73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Cormark upped their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$82.00 to C$85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$78.00 to C$82.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$84.18.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of TSE SLF traded down C$1.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching C$84.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 184,864 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,008,130. The stock has a 50-day moving average of C$78.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$72.22. The stock has a market capitalization of C$48.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.77, a quick ratio of 84,866.00 and a current ratio of 65.29. 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The financial services provider reported C$1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$1.58 by C$0.13. The company had revenue of C$8.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$9.18 billion. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 9.90% and a return on equity of 13.65%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial will post 6.9230769 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.36%.

Insider Transactions at Sun Life Financial

In other Sun Life Financial news, Senior Officer Linda Dougherty sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$75.30, for a total transaction of C$150,590.00. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.