Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Desjardins Analyst Says

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) had its target price lifted by analysts at Desjardins from C$93.00 to C$95.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. Desjardins’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 3.43% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on GWO. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$64.00 to C$77.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. 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 research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$95.00 to C$100.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$76.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$84.00 to C$107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$93.27.

Great-West Lifeco Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of TSE:GWO traded up C$1.42 during trading on Thursday, hitting C$91.85. 353,102 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,620,427. The company has a current ratio of 6.57, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.59. The firm has a market cap of C$82.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of C$87.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$73.92. Great-West Lifeco has a 1-year low of C$51.60 and a 1-year high of C$93.69.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported C$1.42 earnings per share for the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 15.17%. The business had revenue of C$8.35 billion for the quarter. Equities analysts predict that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Great-West Lifeco news, insider Jean-Francois Poulin sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$89.55, for a total value of C$1,791,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$14,328. The trade was a 99.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director Mei Dong sold 39,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$76.33, for a total value of C$3,007,402.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$207,693.93. This trade represents a 93.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 119,200 shares of company stock worth $9,821,888. Corporate 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.