Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Stock Rating Upgraded by Scotiabank

Scotiabank upgraded shares of Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on GWO. Barclays boosted their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$46.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$47.00 to C$51.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on 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. Finally, CIBC boosted their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$55.00 to C$56.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$47.88.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

GWO stock opened at C$46.85 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of C$43.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50-day moving average price is C$47.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$45.84. Great-West Lifeco has a 1-year low of C$38.44 and a 1-year high of C$50.99. The company has a current ratio of 37.46, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61.

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

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.74%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Great-West Lifeco news, Director Charles Donald Harvey Henaire sold 26,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$49.50, for a total transaction of C$1,306,800.00. Also, Senior Officer Colleen Nancy Bailey Moffitt sold 825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$49.11, for a total value of C$40,515.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 66 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$3,241.26. This trade represents a 92.59 % decrease in their position. Insiders have sold a total of 174,613 shares of company stock valued at $8,697,880 over 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.