Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Royal Bank Of Canada

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) was downgraded by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on SLF. National Bank Financial cut Sun Life Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Argus raised shares of Sun Life Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Cibc Captl Mkts downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.50.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of SLF stock opened at $58.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.31. Sun Life Financial has a one year low of $52.44 and a one year high of $66.81.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 17.21%. The firm had revenue of $944.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $944.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Sun Life Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $362,886,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 282.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,776,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $159,006,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,891 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 47.2% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,221,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $241,643,000 after purchasing an additional 1,353,508 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial during the second quarter valued at $87,660,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the first quarter valued at $50,968,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% 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.