Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is C$77.18.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD upped their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$73.00 to C$80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$76.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$83.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$73.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upped their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$75.00 to C$81.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th.

Insider Transactions at Great-West Lifeco

In other news, insider Jean-Francois Poulin sold 19,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$79.57, for a total value of C$1,575,486.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$12,731.20. The trade was a 99.20% decrease in their position. Also, Director Edmund Francis Murphy sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$86.20, for a total value of C$3,448,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$757,180.80. The trade was a 81.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders sold a total of 145,613 shares of company stock valued at $10,976,257 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 70.70% of the company’s stock.

Great-West Lifeco Trading Up 3.2%

GWO opened at C$88.72 on Thursday. Great-West Lifeco has a 12 month low of C$49.78 and a 12 month high of C$88.89. The stock has a market capitalization of C$79.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.08, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.59, a current ratio of 6.57 and a quick ratio of 22.18. The business has a fifty day moving average price of C$76.12 and a 200 day moving average price of C$68.74.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a return on equity of 15.17% and a net margin of 12.86%. Sell-side analysts expect that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 2nd. Great-West Lifeco’s payout ratio is presently 53.76%.

Great-West Lifeco Company Profile

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.