Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Announces $0.59 Quarterly Dividend

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 13th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of 0.5876 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th.

Sun Life Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 11.9% annually over the last three years. Sun Life Financial has a payout ratio of 41.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Sun Life Financial to earn $5.22 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.34 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 44.8%.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

SLF opened at $55.17 on Friday. Sun Life Financial has a 12-month low of $46.41 and a 12-month high of $62.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $58.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.03.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released 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 net margin of 7.32% and a return on equity of 17.44%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on SLF shares. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.