Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as C$90.21 and last traded at C$89.25, with a volume of 411957 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$88.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on GWO shares. TD raised their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$73.00 to C$80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Desjardins upped their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$71.00 to C$80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. National Bank Financial increased their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$65.00 to C$73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$73.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce boosted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$75.00 to C$81.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$77.18.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of C$78.25 and a 200-day moving average of C$69.61. The company has a market cap of C$79.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 22.18, a current ratio of 6.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.59.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$1.37 EPS for the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a return on equity of 15.17% and a net margin of 12.86%.The business had revenue of C$8.37 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts anticipate that Great-West Lifeco Inc. will post 4.4525194 earnings per share for the current year.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Great-West Lifeco news, Director Mei Dong sold 39,400 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$76.33, for a total value of C$3,007,402.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$207,693.93. The trade was a 93.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director Edmund Francis Murphy sold 40,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director owned 8,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$757,180.80. The trade was a 81.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. In the last three months, insiders sold 165,613 shares of company stock valued at $12,767,257. Insiders own 70.70% of the company’s stock.

Great-West Lifeco Company Profile

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.