Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$52.22.

GWO has been the subject of a number of research reports. CIBC upgraded Great-West Lifeco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from C$56.00 to C$60.00 in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$51.00 to C$53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$52.00 to C$54.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays increased their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$46.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Desjardins lifted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$49.00 to C$53.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday.

Insider Activity at Great-West Lifeco

In related news, Senior Officer Colleen Nancy Bailey Moffitt sold 825 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$49.11, for a total transaction of C$40,515.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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. 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 three months, insiders sold 174,613 shares of company stock worth $8,697,880. 70.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of GWO opened at C$51.71 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a current ratio of 37.46. The business’s fifty day moving average price is C$47.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$46.13.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.78%.

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.