Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eight research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$47.63.

GWO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$47.00 to C$51.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$43.00 to C$45.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$50.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, CIBC lifted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$51.00 to C$55.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of TSE GWO opened at C$46.77 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of C$48.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$44.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61, a current ratio of 37.46 and a quick ratio of 22.18. Great-West Lifeco has a 1 year low of C$38.44 and a 1 year high of C$50.99. The firm has a market cap of C$43.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Great-West Lifeco

In other news, Director Charles Donald Harvey Henaire sold 26,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$49.50, for a total value of C$1,306,800.00. Also, Director Paul Mahon sold 146,826 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$49.88, for a total value of C$7,323,842.39. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 209,851 shares of company stock worth $10,327,502. 70.70% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.