Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) Receives C$47.75 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eight research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$47.75.

GWO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$51.00 to C$55.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$47.00 to C$51.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$50.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays raised their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$46.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of 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.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

TSE GWO opened at C$46.00 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is C$48.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$45.13. Great-West Lifeco has a 1 year low of C$38.44 and a 1 year high of C$50.99. The firm has a market capitalization of C$42.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 37.46, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.83%. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio is 55.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Senior Officer David Martin Harney sold 562 shares of Great-West Lifeco 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$49.11, for a total value of C$40,515.75. Following the sale, the insider now owns 66 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$3,241.26. This trade represents a 92.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 174,613 shares of company stock worth $8,697,880. 70.70% of the stock is currently 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.