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

Shares of Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$61.78 and traded as high as C$65.00. Great-West Lifeco shares last traded at C$64.18, with a volume of 1,182,269 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Great-West Lifeco Trading Up 0.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 22.18, a current ratio of 5.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.93. The stock has a market capitalization of C$58.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of C$63.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$61.78.

Great-West Lifeco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Great-West Lifeco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.28%.

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.