Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) Announces $0.56 Quarterly Dividend

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 6th,Zacks Dividends reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.555 per share on Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Up 0.5 %

GWO traded up C$0.25 on Friday, reaching C$49.22. 32,454 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,618,710. The company has a market cap of C$45.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61, a current ratio of 37.46 and a quick ratio of 22.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is C$46.00 and its 200-day moving average price is C$42.83. Great-West Lifeco has a 52-week low of C$38.44 and a 52-week high of C$49.50.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported C$1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$1.05 by C$0.06. The firm had revenue of C$8.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$9.83 billion. Great-West Lifeco had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 11.32%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWO has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$43.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$46.00 to C$51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$47.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$46.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard Henry Linton sold 35,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$46.27, for a total transaction of C$1,656,344.28. In other Great-West Lifeco news, Director Charles Donald Harvey Henaire sold 25,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$44.72, for a total transaction of C$1,135,888.00. Also, Director Richard Henry Linton sold 35,800 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction that occurred 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. 70.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.