Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• Great-West Lifeco received a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 12 analysts: seven buys, four holds and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is C$93.27, with recent targets ranging as high as C$100.
• The stock opened at C$93.34 and has risen 1.2%, while the company reported quarterly EPS of C$1.42 on C$8.35 billion in revenue.
• Great-West Lifeco declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.67, equivalent to C$2.68 annually and a 2.9% yield, with a payout ratio of 52.89%.

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$93.27.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on GWO shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$86.00 to C$87.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. National Bank Financial lifted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$93.00 to C$95.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Desjardins boosted their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$93.00 to C$95.00 in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$77.00 to C$91.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$95.00 to C$100.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Up 1.2%

Great-West Lifeco stock opened at C$93.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of C$83.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of C$91.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$81.96. Great-West Lifeco has a 12 month low of C$54.27 and a 12 month high of C$95.96. The company has a current ratio of 6.07, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.63.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported C$1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a return on equity of 15.48% and a net margin of 12.49%.The firm had revenue of C$8.35 billion for the quarter. Equities analysts predict that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 29th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Great-West Lifeco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.89%.

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. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.