Desjardins Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Stock

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) had its target price lifted by Desjardins from C$49.00 to C$53.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the stock. Desjardins also issued estimates for Great-West Lifeco’s FY2026 earnings at $5.25 EPS.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on GWO. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$52.00 to C$54.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. TD Securities upgraded shares of Great-West Lifeco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from C$49.00 to C$53.00 in a report on Friday. CIBC raised shares of Great-West Lifeco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from C$56.00 to C$60.00 in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$46.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Great-West Lifeco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$52.22.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

Shares of GWO stock opened at C$51.71 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of C$48.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. 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. The company’s 50 day moving average is C$47.35 and its 200 day moving average is C$46.13.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Great-West Lifeco

In other 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 value of C$26,721.58. Also, Director Charles Donald Harvey Henaire sold 26,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$49.50, for a total value of C$1,306,800.00. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 174,613 shares of company stock worth $8,697,880. 70.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.