Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Hits New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Great-West Lifeco reached a new 52-week high at C$54.30 after trading as high as C$23.61, with a total trading volume of 172,286 shares.
• Analyst ratings reflect a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of C$56.67, indicating positive sentiment on the stock.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.61, yielding 4.5%, and has authorized a share buyback plan, signaling management's belief that the shares are undervalued.

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as C$23.61 and last traded at C$54.30, with a volume of 172286 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$54.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their target price 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, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$55.00 to C$56.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$59.00 to C$61.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Desjardins boosted 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 report on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$56.67.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

The company's 50-day simple moving average is C$53.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$52.64. The company has a market cap of C$50.40 billion, a PE ratio of 13.56, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.68.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 29th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Great-West Lifeco's payout ratio is presently 58.40%.

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

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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