Will Sun Life Financial (SLF) Disappoint Earnings in Q2? - Analyst Blog
Sun Life Financial Inc. SLF is scheduled to report second-quarter 2015 results after the market closes on Aug 5. In the last quarter, this multi-line insurer delivered a 5.26% positive earnings surprise.
Will Sun Life Financial deliver a positive earnings surprise this quarter as well? Let's see what factors might influence the earnings report this time around.
Factors Likely to Influence Q2 Results
Consistently rising expenses along with high hedging costs and a persistently low interest rate environment are likely to affect Sun Life Financial’s second-quarter earnings.
However, rigorous expansion of the company’s international business is expected to limit the downside to some extent. Moreover, a well-diversified business profile, along with the alignment of product mix in the U.S. and enhancement of the highly profitable global asset management business, is also expected to impact earnings positively.
Earnings Whispers
Our proven model does not conclusively show that Sun Life Financial is likely to beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate this quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or at least 3 (Hold) for this to happen. But this is not the case here as elaborated below.
Zacks ESP: Sun Life Financial has an ESP of -3.03%. This is because both the Most Accurate Estimate is at 64 cents and the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged higher at 66 cents.
Zacks Rank: Sun Life Financial has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). We caution against Sell-rated stocks (Zacks Ranks #4 and 5) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.
Stocks to Consider
Here are some companies, which you may want to consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:
Primerica, Inc. PRI with an Earnings ESP of +2.15% and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
American Capital, Ltd. ACAS with an Earnings ESP of +8.70% and Zacks Rank #2.
Prudential Financial, Inc. PRU with an Earnings ESP of +0.41% and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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PRUDENTIAL FINL (PRU): Free Stock Analysis Report
AMER CAP LTD (ACAS): Free Stock Analysis Report
PRIMERICA INC (PRI): Free Stock Analysis Report
SUN LIFE FINL (SLF): Free Stock Analysis Report
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