Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) Receives C$42.78 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$43.11.

Several research firms have issued reports on GWO. TD Securities increased their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. National Bankshares raised their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$40.00 to C$42.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Scotiabank upped their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, CIBC increased their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th.

Great-West Lifeco Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Great-West Lifeco stock opened at C$40.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$37.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.86. Great-West Lifeco has a 52-week low of C$37.06 and a 52-week high of C$45.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.33, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a current ratio of 12.42. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is C$42.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$42.07.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported C$1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$0.99 by C$0.05. The company had revenue of C$20.21 billion for the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.28%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.137561 EPS for the current year.

Great-West Lifeco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. This is a boost from Great-West Lifeco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.77%.

Insider Transactions at Great-West Lifeco

In related news, Senior Officer Bradley John Fedorchuk sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$42.44, for a total transaction of C$123,062.08. In related news, Senior Officer Bradley John Fedorchuk sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$42.44, for a total transaction of C$123,062.08. Also, Senior Officer Dervla Mary Tomlin sold 5,400 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$42.33, for a total value of C$228,590.10. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,300 shares of company stock worth $566,402. 70.57% 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.