CIBC Upgrades Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) to “Outperform”

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) was upgraded by CIBC from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report issued on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has a C$60.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of C$56.00. CIBC’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 17.16% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on GWO. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$46.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank upgraded Great-West Lifeco from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. TD Securities raised Great-West Lifeco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from C$49.00 to C$53.00 in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$51.00 to C$53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$52.22.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

Shares of TSE GWO traded down C$1.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting C$51.21. 486,136 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,595,915. The firm has a market capitalization of C$47.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day moving average price is C$47.33 and its 200 day moving average price is C$46.01. Great-West Lifeco has a 12 month low of C$38.44 and a 12 month high of C$52.47. The company has a quick ratio of 22.18, a current ratio of 37.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported C$1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$1.08 by C$0.06. Great-West Lifeco had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.21%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Great-West Lifeco

In other Great-West Lifeco news, Senior Officer David Martin Harney sold 562 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$47.55, for a total transaction of C$26,721.58. Also, Director Charles Donald Harvey Henaire sold 26,400 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$49.50, for a total transaction of C$1,306,800.00. Insiders have sold 174,613 shares of company stock worth $8,697,880 in the last 90 days. 70.70% of the stock is currently 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.