Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Price Target Raised to C$51.00

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) had its price objective raised by CIBC from C$46.00 to C$51.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. CIBC currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays set a C$43.00 target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$47.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$50.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Securities upped their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$43.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Great-West Lifeco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$46.38.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

Great-West Lifeco stock opened at C$46.86 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 37.46, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61. The firm has a market cap of C$43.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. Great-West Lifeco has a 1-year low of C$38.44 and a 1-year high of C$47.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average of C$45.78 and a 200-day moving average of C$42.68.

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

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.74%. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.78%.

Insider Activity at Great-West Lifeco

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