Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Short Interest Update

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,520,000 shares, a decline of 72.1% from the March 15th total of 5,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 715,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SLF traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $56.53. 292,506 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 681,990. Sun Life Financial has a twelve month low of $46.41 and a twelve month high of $62.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $55.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.85.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.30. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 8.08%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.5876 per share. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.16%.

Institutional Trading of Sun Life Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,233,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,438,888,000 after purchasing an additional 197,887 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,454,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $562,121,000 after buying an additional 198,205 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,192,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $427,712,000 after purchasing an additional 703,391 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $382,176,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 30.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,467,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $210,080,000 after purchasing an additional 812,689 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on SLF shares. National Bank Financial raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com lowered Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Cormark raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.