Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO)’s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$60.54 and traded as high as C$64.28. Great-West Lifeco shares last traded at C$63.84, with a volume of 1,959,800 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. National Bank Financial raised their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$58.00 to C$59.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$59.00 to C$70.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Great-West Lifeco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from C$67.00 to C$70.00 in a report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$68.00 to C$70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$68.00 to C$66.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$67.22.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of C$57.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of C$65.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$60.54.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.28%.

Insider Activity at Great-West Lifeco

In related news, Director Edmund Francis Murphy sold 94,532 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$64.51, for a total value of C$6,098,259.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$317,131.16. The trade was a 95.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 70.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Great-West Lifeco

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.