The board of directors of Sun Life Financial approved a dividend of 40.5 cents per share to be paid on Sep 30 to shareholders as of Aug 1. (NYSE:SLF) released its financial results for its second fiscal quarter (2QFY16) on August 10, surpassing the Street’s expectations. The brokerage now has a “buy” rating on the stock. Similarly, Royal Bank of Canada also reiterated its Outperform rating on the stock with a $46 price target.
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On the company’s financial health, Sun Life Financial Inc reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the analyst consensus estimate by $ -0.03 based on the information available during the earnings call on May 10, 2016. The company achieved higher growth rate in mutual funds from Sun Life Global Investments (Canada) Inc. and segregated funds from Sun Life Guaranteed Investment Funds; both these segments recorded strong net flows.
Segment Results SLF Canada reported operating net income of $147 million (C$191 million), down 42.3% year over year. CIBC raised their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$44.00 to C$47.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 27th. In March 2016, the company also acquired additional shares in Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Ltd.in India from Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd., bringing its total stake holding in Birla Sun Life Insurance to 49%. Desjardins increased their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$47.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock.
Sun Life plans to take advantage of this opportunity, telling analysts it will continue to look for acquisition targets, especially in Asia.
Sun Life Financial Inc opened for trading at $32.48 and hit $32.5299 on the upside on Monday, eventually ending the session at $32.42, with a gain of 0.03% or 0.01 points. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. (Sun Life Financial) is a financial services organization which provides a range of protection and wealth products and services to individuals and corporate customers.
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Sun Life’s underlying net income in Canada fell 20 per cent to $200 million, while underlying net income from its USA business rose 8.6 per cent to $114 million.
