Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Price Target Raised to C$46.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) had its price target hoisted by Jefferies Financial Group from C$44.00 to C$46.00 in a report published on Friday morning, BayStreet.CA reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on GWO. TD Securities cut their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$44.00 in a research note on Thursday. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$46.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. National Bankshares raised their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$43.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of C$44.00.

Great-West Lifeco Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of TSE:GWO opened at C$42.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of C$39.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 22.18, a current ratio of 12.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.33. Great-West Lifeco has a 12 month low of C$37.06 and a 12 month high of C$45.18. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is C$41.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$42.27.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported C$1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 10.28% and a net margin of 7.95%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.137561 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.77%.

Insider Activity

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

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.