Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$46.38.

GWO has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays set a C$43.00 price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$50.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on 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. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$43.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, CIBC upped their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$46.00 to C$51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Great-West Lifeco Price Performance

Shares of TSE GWO opened at C$46.86 on Friday. Great-West Lifeco has a fifty-two week low of C$38.44 and a fifty-two week high of C$47.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a current ratio of 37.46. The company has a market cap of C$43.68 billion, a PE ratio of 11.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of C$45.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$42.68.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported C$1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$1.05 by C$0.06. The business had revenue of C$8.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$9.83 billion. Great-West Lifeco had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.21%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.74%. Great-West Lifeco’s payout ratio is 55.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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