Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$79.47 and traded as high as C$92.59. Great-West Lifeco shares last traded at C$91.51, with a volume of 1,164,395 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$77.00 to C$91.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$84.00 to C$107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$86.00 to C$87.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. TD lifted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$98.00 to C$106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Desjardins upped their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$93.00 to C$95.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$93.27.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of C$81.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.63, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a current ratio of 6.07. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is C$91.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$79.85.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported C$1.42 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$8.35 billion for the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a return on equity of 15.48% and a net margin of 12.49%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Great-West Lifeco Inc. will post 4.4525194 earnings per share for the current year.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 29th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Edmund Francis Murphy sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$86.20, for a total transaction of C$3,448,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$757,180.80. This represents a 81.99% decrease in their position. Also, insider Jean-Francois Poulin sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$89.55, for a total transaction of C$1,791,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 160 shares in the company, valued at C$14,328. This trade represents a 99.21% decrease in their position. Company insiders own 70.70% of the company’s stock.

About Great-West Lifeco

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.