Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$46.38.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GWO shares. Barclays set a C$43.00 price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$46.00 to C$51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Securities upped their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$43.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$50.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th.

Great-West Lifeco Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Great-West Lifeco stock opened at C$47.37 on Friday. Great-West Lifeco has a 1 year low of C$38.12 and a 1 year high of C$47.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61, a current ratio of 37.46 and a quick ratio of 22.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of C$45.64 and a 200 day moving average price of C$42.59. The company has a market capitalization of C$44.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported C$1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$1.05 by C$0.06. Great-West Lifeco had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 11.32%. The business had revenue of C$8.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$9.83 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Great-West Lifeco’s payout ratio is 55.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard Henry Linton sold 35,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$46.27, for a total transaction of C$1,656,344.28. In related news, Director Charles Donald Harvey Henaire sold 25,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$44.72, for a total value of C$1,135,888.00. Also, Director Richard Henry Linton sold 35,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$46.27, for a total value of C$1,656,344.28. Insiders own 70.70% of the company’s stock.

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.