National Bank Financial Predicts TSE:GWO FY2025 Earnings

Key Points

• Analysts at National Bank Financial have raised their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimate for Great-West Lifeco from $4.58 to $4.67, exceeding the consensus estimate of $4.45.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, providing a yield of 4.6%, with the payment date set for September 29th.
• Great-West Lifeco recently approved a share buyback program, reflecting confidence from its board in the company's stock value.

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at National Bank Financial raised their FY2025 earnings estimates for shares of Great-West Lifeco in a report released on Tuesday, August 5th. National Bank Financial analyst G. Dechaine now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $4.67 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $4.58. The consensus estimate for Great-West Lifeco's current full-year earnings is $4.45 per share.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. CIBC dropped their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$60.00 to C$57.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank lifted their target price 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, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$58.00 to C$57.00 in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Desjardins upped their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$52.00 to C$55.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$55.00 to C$56.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Great-West Lifeco has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of C$56.67.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

TSE GWO traded up C$0.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting C$53.47. 251,081 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,914,641. The stock has a market capitalization of C$49.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. Great-West Lifeco has a twelve month low of C$41.98 and a twelve month high of C$57.61. The business's 50-day moving average is C$51.62 and its 200-day moving average is C$51.95.

Insider Activity at Great-West Lifeco

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

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 29th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Great-West Lifeco's payout ratio is 50.79%.

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

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.