Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as C$93.96 and last traded at C$92.29, with a volume of 48822 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$91.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotia lifted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$78.00 to C$83.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$90.00 to C$92.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$95.00 to C$97.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$84.00 to C$107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$77.00 to C$91.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Great-West Lifeco presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$93.27.

Great-West Lifeco Trading Down 1.6%

The company has a market cap of C$82.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 22.18, a current ratio of 6.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.63. The company’s 50-day moving average is C$88.39 and its 200 day moving average is C$74.83.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported C$1.42 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$8.35 billion for the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a return on equity of 15.48% and a net margin of 12.49%. Research analysts predict that Great-West Lifeco Inc. will post 4.4525194 EPS for the current year.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mei Dong sold 39,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$76.33, for a total transaction of C$3,007,402.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$207,693.93. The trade was a 93.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director Edmund Francis Murphy sold 40,000 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 8,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$757,180.80. This trade represents a 81.99% decrease in their position. Insiders sold a total of 119,200 shares of company stock worth $9,821,888 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 70.70% of the company’s stock.

About Great-West Lifeco

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.