Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Sets New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Great-West Lifeco reached a new 52-week high of C$52.99 following an upgrade from Barclays, which raised its price target to C$57.00 while maintaining an equal weight rating.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61, with a dividend yield of 4.6% and a payout ratio of 50.79%.
• Insider selling was noted, with two senior officers collectively selling over 57,000 shares, which may indicate confidence in the stock's position despite recent fluctuations.

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Desjardins raised their price target on the stock from C$52.00 to C$55.00. Desjardins currently has a hold rating on the stock. Great-West Lifeco traded as high as C$22.82 and last traded at C$52.99, with a volume of 248127 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$54.18.

GWO has been the subject of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$55.00 to C$56.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday. National Bankshares decreased their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$53.00 to C$52.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$59.00 to C$61.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$58.00 to C$57.00 in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, CIBC decreased their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$60.00 to C$57.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Great-West Lifeco currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$56.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Great-West Lifeco news, Senior Officer David Martin Harney sold 20,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$51.85, for a total value of C$1,073,263.95. Also, Senior Officer Dervla Mary Tomlin sold 36,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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. 70.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Great-West Lifeco Trading Down 0.5%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of C$51.62 and a 200 day moving average price of C$51.95. The stock has a market cap of C$49.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 29th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Great-West Lifeco's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.79%.

Great-West Lifeco declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 5th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are 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.