Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Hits New 52-Week High at $45.28

Shares of Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as C$45.28 and last traded at C$45.28, with a volume of 222317 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$44.85.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Securities lifted their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$43.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays set a C$43.00 target price on Great-West Lifeco and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$47.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$46.00 to C$42.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Great-West Lifeco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$43.78.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of C$42.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.27, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of C$42.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$41.73.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported C$1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of C$9.83 billion. Great-West Lifeco had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.21%. Equities analysts forecast that Great-West Lifeco Inc. will post 4.4885344 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.78%.

Insider Transactions at Great-West Lifeco

In other news, Director Charles Donald Harvey Henaire sold 25,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$44.72, for a total transaction of C$1,135,888.00. Insiders own 70.65% of the company’s stock.

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.