Brokerages Set Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) Price Target at C$43.60

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$44.00.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. National Bankshares boosted their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$43.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$45.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, CIBC upped their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th.

Great-West Lifeco Price Performance

GWO stock opened at C$43.33 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of C$40.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.86. Great-West Lifeco has a 52-week low of C$37.06 and a 52-week high of C$45.18. The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$41.97 and a 200-day moving average price of C$42.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.96, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a current ratio of 37.37.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported C$1.04 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 during the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a return on equity of 11.74% and a net margin of 10.05%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.20199 EPS for the current year.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Senior Officer Linda Kerrigan sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$42.95, for a total transaction of C$214,750.00. In other Great-West Lifeco news, Senior Officer Dervla Mary Tomlin sold 5,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were 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 dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$42.95, for a total value of C$214,750.00. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,300 shares of company stock valued at $566,402. Company insiders own 70.58% of the company’s stock.

Great-West Lifeco Company Profile

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.