Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$61.43 and traded as high as C$61.95. Great-West Lifeco shares last traded at C$61.73, with a volume of 4,760,566 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$60.00 to C$64.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$68.00 to C$70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Great-West Lifeco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from C$67.00 to C$70.00 in a research note on Friday, February 13th. TD Securities raised their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$73.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$59.00 to C$70.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Great-West Lifeco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$67.22.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Down 0.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.93, a current ratio of 5.80 and a quick ratio of 22.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is C$64.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$61.43. The firm has a market cap of C$55.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.63.

Great-West Lifeco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.67 dividend. This is a positive change from Great-West Lifeco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. Great-West Lifeco’s payout ratio is 57.28%.

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.