Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Price Target Raised to C$56.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets has raised the price target for Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) from C$55.00 to C$56.00, indicating a potential upside of 6.02% from the current stock price.
• The stock has experienced a recent decrease of 2.5%, trading at C$52.82, with a market capitalization of C$49.18 billion.
• Great-West Lifeco initiated a share repurchase program, reflecting management's belief that the stock may be undervalued.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO - Free Report) had its price objective lifted by BMO Capital Markets from C$55.00 to C$56.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the stock.

GWO has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a C$53.00 price objective on Great-West Lifeco and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$58.00 to C$57.00 in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$56.00 to C$57.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. CIBC reduced their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$60.00 to C$57.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$59.00 to C$61.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Great-West Lifeco currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of C$56.67.

Great-West Lifeco Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of TSE:GWO traded up C$0.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching C$53.28. The stock had a trading volume of 2,593,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,942,318. The company has a market cap of C$49.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. Great-West Lifeco has a 1 year low of C$40.16 and a 1 year high of C$57.61. The business's 50 day moving average price is C$51.60 and its 200 day moving average price is C$51.90.

Great-West Lifeco declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 5th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Great-West Lifeco's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.79%.

Insider Activity at Great-West Lifeco

In other Great-West Lifeco news, Senior Officer David Martin Harney sold 20,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$51.85, for a total transaction of C$1,073,263.95. Also, Senior Officer Dervla Mary Tomlin sold 36,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$51.05, for a total value of C$1,873,520.32. 70.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Great-West Lifeco Company Profile

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.