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

Key Points

• Great-West Lifeco stock reached a new 52-week high of C$22.75, with recent trading at C$52.08 and a volume of 241,260 shares.
• Analyst ratings are mixed, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of C$55.56, while some firms have lowered their price objectives.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 4.69%.

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as C$22.75 and last traded at C$52.08, with a volume of 241260 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$52.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on GWO. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$58.00 to C$57.00 in a research report on Monday, April 21st. CIBC dropped their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$60.00 to C$57.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a C$53.00 price objective on Great-West Lifeco and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$53.00 to C$62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised Great-West Lifeco from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of C$55.56.

Great-West Lifeco Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$51.49 and a 200 day moving average of C$51.46. The firm has a market cap of C$48.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.69%. Great-West Lifeco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.79%.

Insider Transactions at Great-West Lifeco

In other news, Senior Officer Dervla Mary Tomlin sold 36,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$51.85, for a total transaction of C$1,073,263.95. 70.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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