Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as C$93.96 and last traded at C$92.29, with a volume of 48822 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$91.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on GWO. TD upped their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$98.00 to C$106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$84.00 to C$107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce boosted their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$95.00 to C$97.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Desjardins increased their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$93.00 to C$95.00 in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Scotia raised their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$78.00 to C$83.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$93.27.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Up 0.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of C$83.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.67. The business’s 50-day moving average is C$87.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$74.47. The company has a quick ratio of 22.18, a current ratio of 6.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.63.

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. The firm had revenue of C$8.35 billion for the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a return on equity of 15.48% and a net margin of 12.49%. Equities analysts anticipate that Great-West Lifeco Inc. will post 4.4525194 EPS for the current year.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Great-West Lifeco

In other news, Director Edmund Francis Murphy sold 40,000 shares of Great-West Lifeco 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 owned 8,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$757,180.80. This trade represents a 81.99% decrease in their position. Also, insider Jean-Francois Poulin sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$89.55, for a total transaction of C$1,791,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 160 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$14,328. This trade represents a 99.21% decrease in their position. Insiders sold 119,200 shares of company stock worth $9,821,888 in the last three months. 70.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.