Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$43.11.

A number of research firms have recently commented on GWO. CIBC increased their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, National Bankshares raised their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$40.00 to C$42.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd.

Great-West Lifeco Trading Down 0.3 %

GWO stock opened at C$40.36 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of C$37.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.33, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a current ratio of 12.42. Great-West Lifeco has a 52 week low of C$37.05 and a 52 week high of C$45.18. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is C$42.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$42.04.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported C$1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.99 by C$0.05. The firm had revenue of C$20.21 billion for the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.28%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.137561 earnings per share for the current year.

Great-West Lifeco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. This is an increase from Great-West Lifeco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.50%. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.77%.

Insider Activity at Great-West Lifeco

In related news, Senior Officer Linda Kerrigan sold 5,000 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$42.95, for a total value of C$214,750.00. In other Great-West Lifeco news, Senior Officer Dervla Mary Tomlin sold 5,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$42.33, for a total transaction of C$228,590.10. Also, Senior Officer Linda Kerrigan sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$42.95, for a total value of C$214,750.00. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,300 shares of company stock valued at $566,402. 70.57% of the stock is owned by company 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.