Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Sets New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as C$22.61 and last traded at C$51.96, with a volume of 382760 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$52.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. National Bankshares cut their price target 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 report on Thursday, May 8th. CIBC cut their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$60.00 to C$57.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a C$53.00 price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$54.00 to C$59.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Great-West Lifeco from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$55.56.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of C$51.33 and a 200 day moving average price of C$51.27. The company has a market capitalization of C$48.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.91, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.69%. Great-West Lifeco's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.79%.

Insider Transactions at Great-West Lifeco

In other Great-West Lifeco news, Senior Officer David Martin Harney sold 20,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$51.85, for a total transaction of C$1,073,263.95. Also, Senior Officer Dervla Mary Tomlin sold 36,700 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was 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 currently owned by company insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.