Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Given New C$58.00 Price Target at National Bankshares

Key Points

• Great-West Lifeco has seen its price target raised from C$52.00 to C$58.00 by National Bankshares, indicating a slight upside from its previous close.
• Analysts are generally optimistic, with two giving a Strong Buy rating, four a Buy rating, and a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of C$58.44.
• The company's board has authorized a share buyback plan, suggesting that leadership believes the stock is undervalued.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at National Bankshares from C$52.00 to C$58.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has a "sector perform" rating on the stock. National Bankshares' price target indicates a potential upside of 0.19% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on GWO. Barclays lifted their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$57.00 to C$58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Securities upped their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$59.00 to C$66.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised Great-West Lifeco to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank increased 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 report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Desjardins increased their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$55.00 to C$60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$58.44.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

TSE:GWO traded up C$0.11 during trading hours on Monday, reaching C$57.89. The stock had a trading volume of 341,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,660,898. The stock has a market cap of C$53.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.65. Great-West Lifeco has a 12-month low of C$44.89 and a 12-month high of C$59.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of C$55.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$53.08.

Great-West Lifeco declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 5th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is 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.

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