It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Sun Life (SLF Quick QuoteSLF - Free Report) . Shares have added about 4.5% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Sun Life due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.

Sun Life Q4 Earnings Surpass Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y

Sun Life Financial delivered fourth-quarter 2023 underlying net income of $1.23 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.1%. However, the bottom line decreased 1.6% year over year.  Underlying net income was $722 million (C$983 million), which increased 10% year over year.

Revenues of $13.7 billion increased 51.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Wealth sales & asset management gross flows of $33.7 billion (C$45.8 billion) increased 5.7% year over year. Group - Health & Protection sales of $1.1 billion (C$1.5 billion) improved 8.5% year over year. Individual - Protection sales of $519.6 million (C$707 million) jumped 42% year over year.

New business contractual service margin (CSM) was $280 million (C$381 million), up 51% year over year.

Segment Results

SLF Canada’s underlying net income increased 32% year over year to $257.2 million (C$350 million). Canada witnessed solid results in Wealth & Asset Management, Group - Health & Protection and Individual - Protection.

Wealth sales & asset management gross flows of $5 billion increased 32% year over year. Both Group - Health & Protection and Individual - Protection sales increased year over year.

SLF U.S.’ underlying net income was $187 million, which increased 8% year over year, reflecting solid results at Individual – Protection, partially offset by softer Group - Health & Protection.

U.S. group sales of $932 million improved 4% driven by medical stop-loss and commercial dental sales, partially offset by lower employee benefit sales and lower large case sales in Dental.

SLF Asset Management reported underlying net income of $243 million (C$331 million), which grew 2% year over year, driven by solid results at SLC Management. SLF Asset Management exited the reported quarter with $766 billion (C$1,016 billion) of AUM, consisting of $599 billion in MFS and $168 billion (C$223 billion) in SLC Management.

SLF Asia reported underlying net income of $105 million (C$143 million), which grew 6% year over year, driven by business growth reflecting good sales momentum at Individual - Protection.

Individual sales of $536 million increased 49% year over year. Wealth sales & asset management gross flows of $2 billion improved 12% year over year. New business CSM of $223 million increased 82.8% year over year, primarily driven by sales in Hong Kong and High Net Worth.

Financial Update  

Global assets under management were $970.47 billion (C$1,400 billion), up 6.1% year over year.

Sun Life Assurance’s Life Insurance Capital Adequacy Test (LICAT) ratio was 141% as of Dec 31, 2023, up 200 basis points (bps) from Jan 1, 2023, level.

The LICAT ratio for Sun Life (including cash and other liquid assets) was 149%, which expanded 700 bps from Jan 1, 2023, level.

Sun Life’s return on equity was 14.7% in 2023, which expanded 20 bps year over year. The underlying return on equity of 17.8% expanded 80 bps year over year. The leverage ratio of 21.8% contracted 190 bps from Jan 1, 2023, level.

Dividend Update

The company’s board of directors approved a quarterly dividend of 78 cents per share. The amount will be paid out on Mar 28, 2024, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Feb 28.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

In the past month, investors have witnessed an upward trend in estimates review.

VGM Scores

At this time, Sun Life has an average Growth Score of C, a grade with the same score on the momentum front. However, the stock was allocated a grade of A on the value side, putting it in the top 20% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of this revision looks promising. Notably, Sun Life has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.

Performance of an Industry Player

Sun Life belongs to the Zacks Insurance - Life Insurance industry. Another stock from the same industry, Reinsurance Group (RGA Quick QuoteRGA - Free Report) , has gained 9.6% over the past month. More than a month has passed since the company reported results for the quarter ended December 2023.

Reinsurance Group reported revenues of $5.16 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +18.2%. EPS of $4.73 for the same period compares with $2.99 a year ago.

For the current quarter, Reinsurance Group is expected to post earnings of $4.53 per share, indicating a change of -12.2% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate remained unchanged over the last 30 days.

Reinsurance Group has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) based on the overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions. Additionally, the stock has a VGM Score of C.