Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Stock Price Breaks Above 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) shares passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of C$90.78 and traded as high as C$91.40. Great-West Lifeco shares last traded at C$90.95, with a volume of 372,464 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore upgraded shares of Great-West Lifeco to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. TD boosted their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$98.00 to C$106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$84.00 to C$107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$95.00 to C$97.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Desjardins raised 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Great-West Lifeco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$93.18.

Great-West Lifeco Trading Up 1.0%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of C$90.76 and a 200 day moving average of C$79.35. The stock has a market cap of C$82.99 billion, a PE ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 22.18, a current ratio of 6.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.63.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported C$1.42 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$8.35 billion during the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a return on equity of 15.48% and a net margin of 12.49%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Great-West Lifeco Inc. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 29th were paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 (DPR) is currently 52.89%.

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.