Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as C$51.49 and last traded at C$50.20, with a volume of 155707 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$47.47.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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 note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$52.00 to C$54.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays boosted their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$46.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$59.00 to C$60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Desjardins boosted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$49.00 to C$53.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$52.22.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

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 stock has a 50-day moving average of C$47.33 and a 200-day moving average of C$46.01. The firm has a market cap of C$48.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported C$1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Great-West Lifeco Inc. will post 4.4525194 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul Mahon sold 146,826 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$49.88, for a total transaction of C$7,323,842.39. Also, Senior Officer Colleen Nancy Bailey Moffitt sold 825 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$49.11, for a total transaction of C$40,515.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 66 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$3,241.26. This represents a 92.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 174,613 shares of company stock valued at $8,697,880. 70.70% of the stock is 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.