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

Shares of Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$47.63.

GWO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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 note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$47.00 to C$51.00 in a report 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 note on Friday, November 8th. TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$43.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$50.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Great-West Lifeco Trading Down 0.4 %

GWO stock opened at C$50.04 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 37.46, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61. The firm has a market cap of C$46.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. Great-West Lifeco has a 1-year low of C$38.44 and a 1-year high of C$50.99. The business’s 50 day moving average is C$47.31 and its 200-day moving average is C$43.64.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.44%. Great-West Lifeco’s payout ratio is 55.78%.

Insider Transactions at Great-West Lifeco

In other Great-West Lifeco news, 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 transaction of C$7,323,842.39. Also, Director Richard Henry Linton sold 35,800 shares of the company’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 sold a total of 235,251 shares of company stock worth $11,463,390 over the last 90 days. 70.70% of the stock is 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.