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

Shares of Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$43.78.

A number of research firms recently commented on GWO. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$43.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$46.00 to C$42.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Finally, Barclays set a C$43.00 price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Down 1.2 %

GWO stock opened at C$44.51 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of C$41.73 and a 200 day moving average of C$41.69. The stock has a market capitalization of C$41.49 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21, 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. Great-West Lifeco has a 52 week low of C$37.06 and a 52 week high of C$45.18.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported C$1.11 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of C$9.83 billion. Great-West Lifeco had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.21%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.2808552 earnings per share for the current year.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.92%.

Insider Activity at Great-West Lifeco

In related news, Director Charles Donald Harvey Henaire sold 25,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$44.72, for a total value of C$1,135,888.00. Company insiders own 70.65% of the company’s stock.

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.