Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have C$70.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of C$67.00.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$59.00 to C$70.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$67.00 to C$73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$60.00 to C$64.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$68.00 to C$70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Great-West Lifeco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$67.22.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

Shares of GWO opened at C$61.78 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of C$65.42 and a 200 day moving average of C$60.27. Great-West Lifeco has a fifty-two week low of C$49.54 and a fifty-two week high of C$68.56. The firm has a market cap of C$56.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.53.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Great-West Lifeco news, Director Edmund Francis Murphy sold 94,532 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$64.51, for a total value of C$6,098,259.32. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,916 shares in the company, valued at C$317,131.16. This represents a 95.06% decrease in their position. 70.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Great-West Lifeco News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies upgraded GWO from “hold” to “buy” and raised its price target to C$70 (from C$67), signaling stronger analyst conviction and a meaningful upside case for the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Empower (GWL’s U.S. retirement/wealth business) reported record earnings of $1.1 billion, highlighting accelerating workplace and wealth results — a direct earnings and cash-flow tailwind for Great‑West Lifeco. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Great‑West declared preferred-share dividends for two series (5YR RATE PFD‑N: CAD 0.2556; PFD 1st Ser I: CAD 0.2812). Routine preferred dividends support income-oriented investors and signal steady capital allocation for those securities. Read More. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target to C$64 (from C$60) while keeping a “sector perform” stance — a modestly bullish tweak that reduces downside risk in some analysts’ models. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Consensus analyst coverage sits around a “Moderate Buy,” reflecting broadly constructive but not unanimous analyst views — useful context for sentiment but not a catalyst by itself. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets trimmed its price target to C$66 from C$68 and kept a “market perform” rating, a small negative signal that slightly lowers one analyst’s upside estimate. Read More.

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.