Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as C$90.52 and last traded at C$90.37, with a volume of 1163079 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$88.72.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GWO shares. National Bank Financial raised their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$65.00 to C$73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$64.00 to C$77.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Desjardins boosted their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$71.00 to C$80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$75.00 to C$81.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$83.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Great-West Lifeco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$77.18.

Great-West Lifeco Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$80.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$70.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.59, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a current ratio of 6.57. The stock has a market cap of C$81.90 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.69.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$1.37 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$8.37 billion during the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 15.17%. Equities analysts anticipate that Great-West Lifeco Inc. will post 4.4525194 EPS for the current year.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 2nd. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio is 53.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jean-Francois Poulin sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$89.55, for a total value of C$1,791,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$14,328. This trade represents a 99.21% decrease in their position. Also, Director Edmund Francis Murphy sold 40,000 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$86.20, for a total transaction of C$3,448,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$757,180.80. The trade was a 81.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 119,200 shares of company stock valued at $9,821,888. Company insiders own 70.70% of the company’s stock.

Great-West Lifeco Company Profile

Great-West Lifeco is one of the three big Canadian life insurance firms. With just under half of the firm’s profit and revenue in Canada, Great-West also operates in the U.S. and Europe. In Canada, Great-West provides both individual and group insurance. In the United States, Great-West operates Putnam Investments and defined-contribution recordkeeping firm Empower Retirement. In 2020, Great-West announced it would acquire Personal Capital and MassMutual’s recordkeeping business. In Europe, Great-West offers life insurance, annuities, and reinsurance primarily in the U.K., Ireland, and Germany.