BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Stock Price

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) had its price target lifted by BMO Capital Markets from C$70.00 to C$76.00 in a research note published on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$73.00 in a research report on Thursday. TD lifted their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$73.00 to C$80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$60.00 to C$64.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. National Bank Financial set a C$65.00 target price on Great-West Lifeco and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Desjardins lifted their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$68.00 to C$71.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$77.18.

Great-West Lifeco Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Great-West Lifeco stock opened at C$76.27 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of C$68.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.59. Great-West Lifeco has a fifty-two week low of C$49.71 and a fifty-two week high of C$77.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.59, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a current ratio of 6.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$66.82 and a 200 day moving average of C$64.86.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last posted its earnings results 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 predict that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 earnings per share for the current year.

Great-West Lifeco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Great-West Lifeco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.76%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider L.P. Great-West Lifeco U.S. Holdings sold 46,413 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$63.46, for a total value of C$2,945,368.98. Insiders own 70.70% of the company’s stock.

Key Great-West Lifeco News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Scotia raised its price target to C$83 and reiterated a “sector outperform” rating, signaling one of the most bullish views among the recent analyst updates. Scotia raises Great-West Lifeco price target
• Positive Sentiment: TD lifted its target to C$80 from C$73 and kept a “buy” rating, reinforcing confidence in the company’s near-term prospects. TD raises Great-West Lifeco price target
• Positive Sentiment: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased its target to C$81 from C$75, implying additional upside versus the current share price. CIBC raises Great-West Lifeco price target
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada, Desjardins, and Barclays all raised their targets as well, adding to the sense that analysts see more value in the stock after earnings. RBC, Desjardins, and Barclays raise Great-West Lifeco targets
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s latest quarter showed EPS of C$1.37 on revenue of C$8.37 billion, with a 10.96% net margin and 13.98% return on equity, which appears to have helped fuel the upbeat analyst revisions. Great-West Lifeco earnings report and transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also announced the election of directors, which is routine governance news and likely not a major stock driver. Great West announces election of Directors

About Great-West Lifeco

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.