Insurance stocks: 1 buy, 1 hold

Article Excerpt

SUN LIFE FINANCIAL $39.88 (Toronto symbol SLF; Shares outstanding: 610.6 million; Market cap: $24.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.6%; www.sunlife.ca) sells savings, retirement, pension and life insurance products to individuals and corporations. The company mainly operates in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., but it continues to expand into Asia. It has $671.1 billion of assets under management. In August 2013, Sun Life sold its riskier, money-losing U.S. annuity business, which offers products that guarantee minimum long-term returns, even if markets fall. In the three months ended March 31, 2014, the company’s revenue rose 70.4%, to $6.5 billion from $3.8 billion a year earlier. The jump came as the value of the assets Sun Life manages rose, increasing its fee income. It also saw stronger sales of insurance and wealth management products. Excluding one-time items, earnings per share rose 12.5%, to $0.72 from $0.64. The stock has gained 21% in the last year but trades at just 13.8 times Sun Life’s forecast…