Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Reaches New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Great-West Lifeco's stock reached a new 52-week high of C$53.95, with trading volume of 151,920 shares.
• Analyst upgrades have been positive, with price target increases from various firms, resulting in an average target price of C$56.67 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 4.5%, alongside a share repurchase program indicating confidence in its stock value.

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as C$23.50 and last traded at C$53.95, with a volume of 151920 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$54.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on GWO. Scotiabank raised 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 report on Thursday, August 7th. Desjardins raised 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 report on Thursday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised 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 report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$56.00 to C$57.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$56.67.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of C$50.50 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.68. The business's 50-day moving average is C$52.94 and its 200 day moving average is C$52.58.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors 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 yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Great-West Lifeco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.40%.

Great-West Lifeco declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 5th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership 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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