Brokerages Set Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) Target Price at C$47.75

Shares of Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$47.75.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GWO shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$50.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$47.00 to C$51.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$51.00 to C$55.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$46.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Senior Officer David Martin Harney sold 562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$47.55, for a total value of C$26,721.58. Also, Director Paul Mahon sold 146,826 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$49.88, for a total value of C$7,323,842.39. Insiders have sold 174,613 shares of company stock valued at $8,697,880 over the last three months. 70.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of GWO opened at C$46.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of C$43.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is C$48.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$45.12. Great-West Lifeco has a fifty-two week low of C$38.44 and a fifty-two week high of C$50.99.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. Great-West Lifeco’s payout ratio is presently 55.78%.

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.