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

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) had its price target raised by Scotiabank from C$83.00 to C$95.00 in a report published on Wednesday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has a sector outperform rating on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$73.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Scotia increased 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 research report on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$83.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. TD boosted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$73.00 to C$80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upped their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$81.00 to C$95.00 in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Great-West Lifeco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$80.73.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

Shares of TSE GWO opened at C$92.82 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 6.57, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.59. Great-West Lifeco has a 12 month low of C$51.60 and a 12 month high of C$93.69. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of C$84.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$72.53. The stock has a market cap of C$83.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio is 53.76%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jean-Francois Poulin sold 20,000 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$89.55, for a total value of C$1,791,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 160 shares in the company, valued at C$14,328. The trade was a 99.21% decrease in their position. Also, Director Edmund Francis Murphy sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$86.20, for a total value of C$3,448,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$757,180.80. The trade was a 81.99% decrease in their position. Insiders have sold 119,200 shares of company stock worth $9,821,888 in the last ninety days. Company 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.