Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$42.40 and traded as high as C$47.49. Great-West Lifeco shares last traded at C$47.32, with a volume of 311,847 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$47.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays set a C$43.00 price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$43.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Great-West Lifeco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$45.00.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of C$45.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$42.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61, a current ratio of 37.46 and a quick ratio of 22.18. The stock has a market cap of C$44.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported C$1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate 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 Inc. will post 4.4525194 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.69%. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard Henry Linton sold 35,800 shares of the 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 related news, Director Richard Henry Linton sold 35,800 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were 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 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.