Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Price Target Raised to C$61.00 at Scotiabank

Key Points

• Scotiabank raised Great-West Lifeco's price target from C$59.00 to C$61.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.49% based on the stock's current price and maintaining an "outperform" rating.
• Other research firms showed mixed sentiments, with Jefferies Financial Group and National Bankshares lowering their price targets, while Barclays and CIBC adjusted theirs upwards, highlighting a range of target prices from C$52.00 to C$61.00.
• Great-West Lifeco announced a stock repurchase plan, which is often viewed as a sign of management's confidence in the company’s stock being undervalued.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Scotiabank from C$59.00 to C$61.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Scotiabank's price target would indicate a potential upside of 15.01% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on GWO. CIBC cut their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$60.00 to C$57.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$56.00 to C$57.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. National Bankshares lowered their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$53.00 to C$52.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$58.00 to C$57.00 in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a C$53.00 target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of C$56.67.

Great-West Lifeco Price Performance

Shares of GWO stock traded down C$0.24 on Thursday, hitting C$53.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,384,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,932,132. The stock has a market cap of C$49.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 day moving average of C$51.62 and a 200 day moving average of C$51.95. Great-West Lifeco has a 12-month low of C$41.26 and a 12-month high of C$57.61.

Great-West Lifeco announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 5th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Great-West Lifeco

In other news, Senior Officer Dervla Mary Tomlin sold 36,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$51.05, for a total value of C$1,873,520.32. Also, Senior Officer David Martin Harney sold 20,700 shares of the company's 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 owned by corporate 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.