Scotiabank Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Stock

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) had its target price boosted by equities research analysts at Scotiabank from C$83.00 to C$95.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has a “sector outperform” rating on the stock. Scotiabank’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 2.08% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on GWO. Desjardins lifted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$71.00 to C$80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$73.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. National Bank Financial raised their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$65.00 to C$73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$83.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce boosted their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$81.00 to C$95.00 in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$80.73.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Up 0.8%

TSE:GWO opened at C$93.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of C$83.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.59, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a current ratio of 6.57. Great-West Lifeco has a fifty-two week low of C$51.44 and a fifty-two week high of C$93.40. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of C$84.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$72.39.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jean-Francois Poulin sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 19th. The shares were 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 approximately C$14,328. This trade 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 that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$76.33, for a total transaction of C$3,007,402.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$207,693.93. The trade was a 93.54% decrease in their position. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 119,200 shares of company stock valued at $9,821,888. Insiders own 70.70% of the company’s stock.

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.