Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Stock Rating Upgraded by CIBC

CIBC upgraded shares of Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report report published on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has C$60.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of C$56.00.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on GWO. TD Securities raised Great-West Lifeco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from C$49.00 to C$53.00 in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank upgraded Great-West Lifeco from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$46.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$51.00 to C$53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$52.22.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of TSE:GWO opened at C$51.71 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of C$48.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is C$47.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$46.13. Great-West Lifeco has a 52-week low of C$38.44 and a 52-week high of C$52.47. The company has a quick ratio of 22.18, a current ratio of 37.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. Great-West Lifeco’s payout ratio is 55.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Senior Officer David Martin Harney sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$47.55, for a total transaction of C$26,721.58. Also, Senior Officer Colleen Nancy Bailey Moffitt sold 825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$49.11, for a total transaction of C$40,515.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 66 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$3,241.26. This represents a 92.59 % decrease in their position. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 174,613 shares of company stock worth $8,697,880. Corporate insiders own 70.70% of the company’s stock.

About Great-West Lifeco

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.