Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Price Target Raised to C$87.00

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) had its price target hoisted by Barclays from C$86.00 to C$87.00 in a report published on Wednesday,BayStreet.CA reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on GWO. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$76.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Scotia increased their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$78.00 to C$83.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$83.00 to C$95.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. National Bank Financial boosted their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$93.00 to C$95.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, TD upped their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$80.00 to C$98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Great-West Lifeco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$93.27.

Great-West Lifeco Price Performance

Shares of GWO opened at C$92.94 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of C$83.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is C$87.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$74.23. Great-West Lifeco has a twelve month low of C$51.60 and a twelve month high of C$93.69. The company has a current ratio of 6.07, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.63.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported C$1.42 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$8.35 billion during the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a net margin of 12.49% and a return on equity of 15.48%. Equities analysts forecast that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors 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 yield of 2.9%. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.89%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Edmund Francis Murphy sold 40,000 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director directly owned 8,784 shares in the company, valued at C$757,180.80. The trade was a 81.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director Mei Dong sold 39,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$76.33, for a total value of C$3,007,402.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,721 shares in the company, valued at C$207,693.93. This represents a 93.54% decrease in their position. Insiders sold 119,200 shares of company stock valued at $9,821,888 in the last three months. 70.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Great-West Lifeco

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

• Positive Sentiment: Management’s earnings call highlighted continued growth momentum, supporting confidence in Great-West Lifeco’s earnings outlook and business performance. Great-West Lifeco Earnings Call Highlights Growth Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank raised its price target to C$100 from C$95 and assigned a “sector outperform” rating, implying meaningful potential appreciation. CIBC also lifted its target to C$97 from C$95, while Desjardins raised its target to C$95 from C$93. Analyst Ratings
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays expects Great-West Lifeco’s stock to rise, adding to the favorable analyst sentiment surrounding the company. Barclays Great-West Lifeco Stock Forecast
• Positive Sentiment: National Bank Financial forecast strong price appreciation for the shares, reinforcing expectations for further upside. National Bank Financial Great-West Lifeco Forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO raised its target to C$92 from C$90 but retained a “market perform” rating, while RBC increased its target to C$91 from C$77 and maintained “sector perform.” These revisions acknowledge improved valuation but suggest limited near-term upside under their assumptions. Analyst Ratings

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.