Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as C$90.21 and last traded at C$89.25, with a volume of 411957 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$88.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. National Bank Financial upped their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$65.00 to C$73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$83.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$76.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Desjardins raised their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$71.00 to C$80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lifted their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$75.00 to C$81.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$77.18.

Great-West Lifeco Trading Up 0.1%

The company has a market cap of C$79.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.14, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average is C$78.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$69.61. The company has a quick ratio of 22.18, a current ratio of 6.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.59.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a return on equity of 15.17% and a net margin of 12.86%.The company had revenue of C$8.37 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Great-West Lifeco Inc. will post 4.4525194 EPS for the current year.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Great-West Lifeco news, insider Jean-Francois Poulin sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$89.55, for a total value of C$1,791,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$14,328. The trade was a 99.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider L.P. Great-West Lifeco U.S. Holdings sold 46,413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$63.46, for a total value of C$2,945,368.98. Insiders have sold 165,613 shares of company stock worth $12,767,257 in the last quarter. 70.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.