Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Reaches New 52-Week 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)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from C$56.00 to C$57.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight 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 trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$54.18.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. National Bankshares cut 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. CIBC lowered 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 research report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on 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 price objective on Great-West Lifeco and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Six 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of C$56.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Great-West Lifeco

In other news, Senior Officer Dervla Mary Tomlin sold 36,700 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were 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 Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction on Monday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$51.85, for a total value of C$1,073,263.95. Company insiders own 70.70% of the company's stock.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Down 2.2%

The business's 50 day simple moving average is C$51.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$51.73. The stock has a market capitalization of C$49.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.12, a P/E/G 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 Friday, August 29th will be given a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Great-West Lifeco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.79%.

Great-West Lifeco announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is 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.

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