BUZZ - Sun Life Financial shares fall after Q3 earnings release

November 5 - ** Sun Life Financial (SLF.TO) shares fell by 8.3%, closing at C$104.96

** After the close on Wednesday, the company reported third-quarter net profit of C$785 million (US$561.36 million), or C$1.4 per share, compared with $1.1 billion, or C$1.97 per share, in the same period last year

** Net profit reported in Asia fell 66% to C$123 million; while Sun Life Asset Management’s total net inflows decreased by $7.7 billion from last year, a drop of 18%

** Analysts at National Bank of Canada said that group disability claim losses in its U.S. business segment and another quarter of below-expectation net inflows for MFS funds may overshadow these results

** According to data compiled by London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), 6 out of 15 analysts rate the stock as “strong buy” or “buy”, 8 rate it as “hold”, and 1 as “sell”; the median target price is C$116

** Including this day’s gains, the stock is up 23% year-to-date

(US$1 = C$1.3984)

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