Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Reaches New 12-Month High - What's Next?

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)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as C$23.61 and last traded at C$54.30, with a volume of 172286 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$54.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on GWO. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$55.00 to C$56.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Desjardins lifted their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$52.00 to C$55.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$59.00 to C$61.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$56.67.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Up 1.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of C$50.15 billion, a PE ratio of 13.49, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.68. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is C$53.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$52.65.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

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

Great-West Lifeco declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 5th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors 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.