Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, National Bank Financial Analyst Says

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at National Bank Financial from C$73.00 to C$93.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. National Bank Financial’s target price suggests a potential upside of 0.65% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on GWO. Barclays upped their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$73.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$84.00 to C$107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD boosted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$80.00 to C$98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Desjardins upped their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$71.00 to C$80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$64.00 to C$77.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$86.36.

Great-West Lifeco Trading Up 0.8%

TSE:GWO opened at C$92.40 on Thursday. Great-West Lifeco has a 12 month low of C$51.60 and a 12 month high of C$93.69. The company has a current ratio of 6.57, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.59. The stock has a market capitalization of C$82.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.87, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of C$86.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$73.39.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$1.37 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$8.37 billion for the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 15.17%. Analysts expect that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Great-West Lifeco

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

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.