Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$51.02 and traded as high as C$52.55. Great-West Lifeco shares last traded at C$52.10, with a volume of 2,550,331 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. National Bankshares lowered their target price 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. Barclays upgraded Great-West Lifeco from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$58.00 to C$57.00 in a research report on Monday, April 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$54.00 to C$59.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Securities upped their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$53.00 to C$62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of C$55.56.

Great-West Lifeco Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of C$48.78 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is C$51.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$51.06.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Great-West Lifeco's payout ratio is currently 50.79%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Senior Officer Dervla Mary Tomlin sold 36,700 shares of the 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 the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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. Corporate insiders own 70.70% of the company's stock.

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.