Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Price Target Raised to C$60.00

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) had its price objective upped by Scotiabank from C$59.00 to C$60.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on GWO. TD Securities upgraded Great-West Lifeco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from C$49.00 to C$53.00 in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$51.00 to C$53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$46.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, CIBC upgraded shares of Great-West Lifeco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from C$56.00 to C$60.00 in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$52.22.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Down 1.3 %

GWO opened at C$51.71 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of C$48.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. Great-West Lifeco has a one year low of C$38.44 and a one year high of C$52.47. The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$47.35 and a 200-day moving average price of C$46.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61, a current ratio of 37.46 and a quick ratio of 22.18.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.29%. Great-West Lifeco’s payout ratio is 55.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Great-West Lifeco news, Director Paul Mahon sold 146,826 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$49.88, for a total value of C$7,323,842.39. Also, Senior Officer David Martin Harney sold 562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$47.55, for a total transaction of C$26,721.58. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 174,613 shares of company stock valued at $8,697,880. Corporate insiders own 70.70% of the company’s stock.

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.