Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) Receives C$47.88 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$47.88.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GWO. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$47.00 to C$51.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Scotiabank upgraded Great-West Lifeco from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$55.00 to C$56.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$46.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Senior Officer David Martin Harney sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$47.55, for a total transaction of C$26,721.58. Also, Senior Officer Colleen Nancy Bailey Moffitt sold 825 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$49.11, for a total transaction of C$40,515.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 66 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$3,241.26. This trade represents a 92.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders have sold a total of 174,613 shares of company stock valued at $8,697,880 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 70.70% of the company’s stock.

Great-West Lifeco Trading Up 1.3 %

TSE GWO opened at C$47.47 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is C$47.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$45.89. Great-West Lifeco has a one year low of C$38.44 and a one year high of C$50.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a current ratio of 37.46. The firm has a market cap of C$44.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported C$1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$1.08 by C$0.06. Great-West Lifeco had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 11.32%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. Analysts expect that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 earnings per share for the current year.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.68%. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.78%.

About Great-West Lifeco

Great-West Lifeco Inc engages in the life and health insurance, retirement and investment services, asset management, and reinsurance businesses in Canada, the United States, and Europe. The company offers life, accidental death and dismemberment, disability, critical illness, health and dental protection, and creditor insurance products; and retirement and wealth savings, income and annuity products, and other specialty products to individuals, families, businesses, and organizations.