Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after TD raised their price target on the stock from C$73.00 to C$80.00. TD currently has a buy rating on the stock. Great-West Lifeco traded as high as C$75.39 and last traded at C$74.52, with a volume of 60591 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$72.86.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$67.00 to C$73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$73.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$68.00 to C$70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Desjardins upped their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$68.00 to C$71.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$60.00 to C$64.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Great-West Lifeco has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$72.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Great-West Lifeco news, insider L.P. Great-West Lifeco U.S. Holdings sold 46,413 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$63.46, for a total transaction of C$2,945,368.98. 70.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Up 4.5%

The company has a market capitalization of C$69.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50-day moving average of C$66.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$64.73. The company has a quick ratio of 22.18, a current ratio of 5.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.93.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported C$1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 10.96%.The business had revenue of C$8.34 billion during the quarter. On average, research analysts predict that Great-West Lifeco Inc. will post 4.4525194 EPS for the current year.

Great-West Lifeco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Great-West Lifeco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Great-West Lifeco’s payout ratio is presently 57.28%.

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.