Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Price Target Raised to C$100.00 at Scotiabank

Key Points

• Scotiabank raised Great-West Lifeco’s price target to C$100 from C$95 and maintained a “sector outperform” rating, implying 8.78% upside from the reported price.
• Great-West Lifeco shares rose 1.7% to C$91.93, while analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average price target of C$93.27.
• Directors sold a combined 119,200 shares worth approximately C$9.8 million over the past three months, despite the company reporting C$1.42 in quarterly EPS and C$8.35 billion in revenue.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by equities research analysts at Scotiabank from C$95.00 to C$100.00 in a report issued on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has a "sector outperform" rating on the stock. Scotiabank's price target would suggest a potential upside of 8.78% from the stock's current price.

GWO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Desjardins boosted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$71.00 to C$80.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. National Bank Financial raised their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$93.00 to C$95.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$86.00 to C$87.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce boosted their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$95.00 to C$97.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Scotia raised their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$78.00 to C$83.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$93.27.

Great-West Lifeco Trading Up 1.7%

GWO traded up C$1.50 during trading on Thursday, reaching C$91.93. The company had a trading volume of 350,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,620,427. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is C$87.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$73.92. The company has a market cap of C$82.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.67. Great-West Lifeco has a 12-month low of C$51.60 and a 12-month high of C$93.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.59, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a current ratio of 6.57.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported C$1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a return on equity of 15.17% and a net margin of 12.86%.The firm had revenue of C$8.35 billion for the quarter. Equities research analysts anticipate that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Great-West Lifeco news, Director Mei Dong sold 39,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$76.33, for a total value of C$3,007,402.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$207,693.93. This represents a 93.54% decrease in their position. Also, Director Edmund Francis Murphy sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$86.20, for a total transaction of C$3,448,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$757,180.80. The trade was a 81.99% decrease in their position. Over the last three months, insiders sold 119,200 shares of company stock worth $9,821,888. 70.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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. In 2020, Great-West announced it would acquire Personal Capital and MassMutual's recordkeeping business. In Europe, Great-West offers life insurance, annuities, and reinsurance primarily in the U.K., Ireland, and Germany.

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