Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Price Target Raised to C$95.00

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) had its target price raised by National Bank Financial from C$93.00 to C$95.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on GWO. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$73.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$64.00 to C$77.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$84.00 to C$107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Scotia raised their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$78.00 to C$83.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lifted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$81.00 to C$95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$93.27.

Great-West Lifeco Price Performance

Shares of GWO stock opened at C$92.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of C$87.60 and a 200 day moving average price of C$74.23. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 28.63, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a current ratio of 6.07. The firm has a market capitalization of C$83.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.20, 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 Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported C$1.42 EPS for the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a return on equity of 15.48% and a net margin of 12.49%.The company had revenue of C$8.35 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 earnings per share for the current year.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Great-West Lifeco’s payout ratio is presently 52.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Edmund Francis Murphy sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$86.20, for a total transaction of C$3,448,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,784 shares in the company, valued at C$757,180.80. This represents a 81.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director Mei Dong sold 39,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$76.33, for a total transaction of C$3,007,402.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$207,693.93. The trade was a 93.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders have sold a total of 119,200 shares of company stock worth $9,821,888 over the last 90 days. 70.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Great-West Lifeco News

Here are the key news stories impacting Great-West Lifeco this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management’s earnings call highlighted continued growth momentum, supporting confidence in Great-West Lifeco’s earnings outlook and business performance. Great-West Lifeco Earnings Call Highlights Growth Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank raised its price target to C$100 from C$95 and assigned a “sector outperform” rating, implying meaningful potential appreciation. CIBC also lifted its target to C$97 from C$95, while Desjardins raised its target to C$95 from C$93. Analyst Ratings
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays expects Great-West Lifeco’s stock to rise, adding to the favorable analyst sentiment surrounding the company. Barclays Great-West Lifeco Stock Forecast
• Positive Sentiment: National Bank Financial forecast strong price appreciation for the shares, reinforcing expectations for further upside. National Bank Financial Great-West Lifeco Forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO raised its target to C$92 from C$90 but retained a “market perform” rating, while RBC increased its target to C$91 from C$77 and maintained “sector perform.” These revisions acknowledge improved valuation but suggest limited near-term upside under their assumptions. Analyst Ratings

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.