Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Great-West Lifeco Inc. has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from analysts, with an average 1-year price target of C$56.67.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, representing an annual yield of 4.4% and a payout ratio of 50.79%.
• Great-West Lifeco also has a share repurchase plan authorized for open market purchases, indicating management's belief that the stock may be undervalued.

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$56.67.

Several research firms have issued reports on GWO. 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 report on Wednesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target 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 note on Thursday, August 7th. Desjardins increased their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$52.00 to C$55.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. CIBC lowered 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$59.00 to C$61.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th.

Great-West Lifeco Price Performance

Shares of TSE:GWO opened at C$55.12 on Friday. Great-West Lifeco has a 12 month low of C$43.16 and a 12 month high of C$57.61. The stock's 50 day moving average price is C$52.11 and its 200 day moving average price is C$52.28. The stock has a market cap of C$51.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Great-West Lifeco's payout ratio is 50.79%.

Great-West Lifeco announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Great-West Lifeco

In other news, Senior Officer David Martin Harney sold 20,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$51.85, for a total value of C$1,073,263.95. Corporate insiders own 70.70% of the company's stock.

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.

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