Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Upgraded by TD Securities to “Buy” Rating

TD Securities upgraded shares of Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. TD Securities currently has C$53.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of C$49.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$47.00 to C$51.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Scotiabank upgraded Great-West Lifeco from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$46.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$55.00 to C$56.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Great-West Lifeco has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$52.22.

Great-West Lifeco Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of GWO stock opened at C$51.71 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of C$47.33 and a 200-day moving average of C$46.01. The stock has a market cap of C$48.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. Great-West Lifeco has a 52-week low of C$38.44 and a 52-week high of C$52.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a current ratio of 37.46.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported C$1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.29%. 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, Senior Officer Colleen Nancy Bailey Moffitt sold 825 shares of the company’s 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 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 position. Also, Director Charles Donald Harvey Henaire sold 26,400 shares of Great-West Lifeco 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 174,613 shares of company stock valued at $8,697,880. 70.70% of the stock is currently 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.