National Bank Financial Brokers Lift Earnings Estimates for Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF)

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) – Equities researchers at National Bank Financial increased their Q1 2024 EPS estimates for Sun Life Financial in a report issued on Thursday, April 25th. National Bank Financial analyst G. Dechaine now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings of $1.64 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.61. The consensus estimate for Sun Life Financial’s current full-year earnings is $6.90 per share. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for Sun Life Financial’s Q2 2024 earnings at $1.66 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $1.76 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $1.75 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $6.82 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $7.39 EPS.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported C$1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$1.59 by C$0.09. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 10.26% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The firm had revenue of C$18.68 billion for the quarter.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SLF. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$75.00 to C$76.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. National Bankshares upped their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$72.00 to C$73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$82.00 to C$83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$70.00 to C$80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$77.00 to C$80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$77.18.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

SLF stock opened at C$70.29 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is C$72.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$69.69. Sun Life Financial has a 12-month low of C$61.84 and a 12-month high of C$74.94. The stock has a market capitalization of C$40.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.36, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 6.81, a quick ratio of 84,866.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 78.47.

Insider Transactions at Sun Life Financial

In other news, Senior Officer Daniel Fishbein sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$74.45, for a total value of C$1,191,120.00. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.32%.

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.