Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as C$92.01 and last traded at C$91.80, with a volume of 714713 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$91.36.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$76.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce boosted their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$75.00 to C$81.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$73.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$64.00 to C$77.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, National Bank Financial lifted their target price on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Great-West Lifeco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$77.18.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Down 1.6%

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is C$82.21 and its 200-day moving average price is C$71.35. The company has a market capitalization of C$81.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.59, a current ratio of 6.57 and a quick ratio of 22.18.

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

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Great-West Lifeco

In other news, Director Edmund Francis Murphy sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director directly 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. Also, Director Mei Dong sold 39,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$76.33, for a total value of C$3,007,402.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$207,693.93. This represents a 93.54% decrease in their position. Over the last three months, insiders sold 119,200 shares of company stock worth $9,821,888. 70.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.