Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,550,000 shares, a decrease of 54.0% from the December 15th total of 3,370,000 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 581,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Burney Co. lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 87,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,171,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 65,096 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,863,000 after acquiring an additional 2,507 shares during the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 108,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,428,000 after buying an additional 1,979 shares during the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 1,352,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,261,000 after purchasing an additional 141,712 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,841,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,876,000 after purchasing an additional 34,072 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.3 %

SLF traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $57.42. 105,588 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 386,741. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.03. Sun Life Financial has a one year low of $46.41 and a one year high of $62.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.78.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were paid a dividend of $0.621 per share. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.33%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th.

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.