Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$47.63.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GWO shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$50.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$43.00 to C$45.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$47.00 to C$51.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, CIBC upped their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$51.00 to C$55.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Great-West Lifeco

In other Great-West Lifeco news, Director Charles Donald Harvey Henaire sold 26,400 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$49.50, for a total transaction of C$1,306,800.00. Also, Director Richard Henry Linton sold 35,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$46.27, for a total transaction of C$1,656,344.28. Insiders have sold a total of 209,851 shares of company stock valued at $10,327,502 in the last three months. 70.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

Shares of TSE GWO opened at C$47.14 on Friday. Great-West Lifeco has a 1 year low of C$38.44 and a 1 year high of C$50.99. The firm has a market cap of C$43.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.84, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of C$48.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$44.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a current ratio of 37.46.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio is 55.78%.

About Great-West Lifeco

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.