Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Price Target Raised to C$45.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) had its price objective raised by BMO Capital Markets from C$44.00 to C$45.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$46.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. National Bankshares boosted their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$43.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$45.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$44.00 in a research report on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Great-West Lifeco has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of C$44.00.

Great-West Lifeco Price Performance

Shares of GWO opened at C$42.23 on Friday. Great-West Lifeco has a one year low of C$37.06 and a one year high of C$45.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is C$41.95 and its 200-day moving average is C$42.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.33, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a current ratio of 12.42. The firm has a market capitalization of C$39.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.86.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported C$1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$0.99 by C$0.05. The business had revenue of C$20.21 billion during the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.28%. Equities analysts anticipate that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.137561 EPS for the current year.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.26%. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Great-West Lifeco

In other Great-West Lifeco news, Senior Officer Bradley John Fedorchuk sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$42.44, for a total value of C$123,062.08. In related news, Senior Officer Linda Kerrigan sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$42.95, for a total value of C$214,750.00. Also, Senior Officer Bradley John Fedorchuk sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$42.44, for a total value of C$123,062.08. Insiders sold 13,300 shares of company stock worth $566,402 over the last ninety days. 70.57% 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.