Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Price Target Raised to C$48.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) had its target price hoisted by Jefferies Financial Group from C$42.00 to C$48.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, BayStreet.CA reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on GWO. Barclays set a C$43.00 price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$43.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$47.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$45.00.

Great-West Lifeco Trading Up 0.7 %

GWO opened at C$47.15 on Wednesday. Great-West Lifeco has a 52 week low of C$37.06 and a 52 week high of C$47.19. The company has a quick ratio of 22.18, a current ratio of 37.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of C$44.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$42.28. The firm has a market cap of C$43.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported C$1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$1.05 by C$0.06. The company had revenue of C$8.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$9.83 billion. Great-West Lifeco had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 11.32%. On average, equities analysts expect that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 earnings per share for the current year.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.71%. Great-West Lifeco’s payout ratio is currently 55.78%.

Insider Activity at Great-West Lifeco

In other Great-West Lifeco news, Director Richard Henry Linton sold 35,800 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$46.27, for a total transaction of C$1,656,344.28. In other Great-West Lifeco news, Director Richard Henry Linton sold 35,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$46.27, for a total value of C$1,656,344.28. Also, Director Charles Donald Harvey Henaire sold 25,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$44.72, for a total transaction of C$1,135,888.00. 70.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Great-West Lifeco Company Profile

Great-West Lifeco Inc engages in the life and health insurance, retirement and investment services, asset management, and reinsurance businesses in Canada, the United States, and Europe. The company offers life, accidental death and dismemberment, disability, critical illness, health and dental protection, and creditor insurance products; and retirement and wealth savings, income and annuity products, and other specialty products to individuals, families, businesses, and organizations.