Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Given New C$53.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) had its target price lifted by Royal Bank of Canada from C$51.00 to C$53.00 in a research note issued on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 3.50% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. TD Securities upgraded Great-West Lifeco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from C$49.00 to C$53.00 in a report on Friday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$46.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$55.00 to C$56.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank upgraded Great-West Lifeco from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$52.22.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Down 2.3 %

GWO stock traded down C$1.18 during trading on Friday, reaching C$51.21. 486,136 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,595,915. 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 company has a market capitalization of C$47.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of C$47.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$46.01. Great-West Lifeco has a 12 month low of C$38.44 and a 12 month high of C$52.47.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported C$1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Great-West Lifeco news, Director Paul Mahon sold 146,826 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$49.88, for a total transaction of C$7,323,842.39. Also, Senior Officer David Martin Harney sold 562 shares of the business’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. Insiders have sold a total of 174,613 shares of company stock valued at $8,697,880 over the last quarter. 70.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.