Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Price Target Raised to C$80.00 at Desjardins

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) had its price objective hoisted by Desjardins from C$71.00 to C$80.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. TD lifted their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$73.00 to C$80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. National Bank Financial lifted their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$65.00 to C$73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$83.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Scotia boosted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$78.00 to C$83.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$68.00 to C$70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One equities research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$77.18.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

Shares of TSE GWO opened at C$76.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 22.18, a current ratio of 6.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.59. The stock 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. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is C$66.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$64.86. Great-West Lifeco has a 52-week low of C$49.71 and a 52-week high of C$77.04.

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

Great-West Lifeco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Great-West Lifeco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.76%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider L.P. Great-West Lifeco U.S. Holdings sold 46,413 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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. 70.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Great-West Lifeco

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.