Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Given New C$93.00 Price Target at National Bank Financial

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) had its target price raised by National Bank Financial from C$73.00 to C$93.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on GWO. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$64.00 to C$77.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$73.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Scotia upped their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$78.00 to C$83.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$83.00 to C$95.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$84.00 to C$107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$86.36.

Great-West Lifeco Price Performance

Great-West Lifeco stock opened at C$91.68 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of C$82.33 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.67. Great-West Lifeco has a 52-week low of C$51.60 and a 52-week high of C$93.69. The company has a quick ratio of 22.18, a current ratio of 6.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.59. The company’s 50 day moving average is C$86.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$73.25.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$1.37 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$8.37 billion during the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 15.17%. On average, research analysts expect that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Great-West Lifeco’s payout ratio is presently 53.76%.

Insider Activity at Great-West Lifeco

In related news, insider Jean-Francois Poulin sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$89.55, for a total value of C$1,791,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$14,328. This represents a 99.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director Mei Dong sold 39,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$76.33, for a total value of C$3,007,402.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$207,693.93. This represents a 93.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders have sold 119,200 shares of company stock valued at $9,821,888 over the last quarter. 70.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Great-West Lifeco Company Profile

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.