Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$80.73.

GWO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$64.00 to C$77.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Scotia lifted their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$78.00 to C$83.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. TD upped their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$73.00 to C$80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$81.00 to C$95.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$83.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Great-West Lifeco stock opened at C$92.82 on Monday. Great-West Lifeco has a 52-week low of C$51.60 and a 52-week high of C$93.69. The company has a 50 day moving average of C$84.76 and a 200 day moving average of C$72.53. The company has a quick ratio of 22.18, a current ratio of 6.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.59. The company has a market capitalization of C$83.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.67.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$1.37 EPS for the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 15.17%. The company had revenue of C$8.37 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts forecast that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio is 53.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Great-West Lifeco

In other Great-West Lifeco news, Director Mei Dong sold 39,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$76.33, for a total value of C$3,007,402.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$207,693.93. The trade was a 93.54% decrease in their position. Also, Director Edmund Francis Murphy sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$86.20, for a total transaction of C$3,448,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$757,180.80. This trade represents a 81.99% decrease in their position. Insiders sold a total of 119,200 shares of company stock valued at $9,821,888 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 70.70% of the company’s stock.

Great-West Lifeco Company Profile

Great-West Lifeco is one of the three big Canadian life insurance firms. With just under half of the firm’s profit and revenue in Canada, Great-West also operates in the U.S. and Europe. In Canada, Great-West provides both individual and group insurance. In the United States, Great-West operates Putnam Investments and defined-contribution recordkeeping firm Empower Retirement. In 2020, Great-West announced it would acquire Personal Capital and MassMutual’s recordkeeping business. In Europe, Great-West offers life insurance, annuities, and reinsurance primarily in the U.K., Ireland, and Germany.