Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Reaches New 52-Week High at $45.18

Shares of Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as C$45.18 and last traded at C$44.85, with a volume of 17316 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$45.04.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$47.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. TD Securities boosted their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$43.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays set a C$43.00 price target on Great-West Lifeco and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$46.00 to C$42.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$43.78.

Great-West Lifeco Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61, a current ratio of 37.46 and a quick ratio of 22.18. The firm has a market capitalization of C$41.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50-day moving average price of C$41.82 and a 200-day moving average price of C$41.71.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported C$1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$1.05 by C$0.06. The company had revenue of C$8.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$9.83 billion. Great-West Lifeco had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.21%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Great-West Lifeco Inc. will post 4.2808552 EPS for the current year.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.99%. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles Donald Harvey Henaire sold 25,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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. 70.65% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.