Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, TD Analyst Says

Key Points

• TD raised its price target for Great-West Lifeco from C$98 to C$106 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying 16.6% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with the stock carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target price of C$88.55, despite several “hold” ratings.
• Great-West Lifeco reported quarterly EPS of C$1.42 on C$8.35 billion in revenue, while shares traded down 1.1% to C$90.91; insiders have sold nearly 120,000 shares worth about C$9.8 million over the past 90 days.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by stock analysts at TD from C$98.00 to C$106.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. TD's price target indicates a potential upside of 16.60% from the stock's previous close.

GWO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Desjardins boosted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$71.00 to C$80.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$81.00 to C$95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$64.00 to C$77.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$86.00 to C$87.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$84.00 to C$107.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of C$88.55.

Great-West Lifeco Trading Down 1.1%

TSE GWO traded down C$0.99 during trading on Wednesday, hitting C$90.91. The stock had a trading volume of 725,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,621,602. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.59, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a current ratio of 6.57. The stock has a market capitalization of C$81.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.67. Great-West Lifeco has a one year low of C$51.60 and a one year high of C$93.69. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of C$86.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$73.76.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported C$1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$8.35 billion during the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a return on equity of 15.17% and a net margin of 12.86%. Sell-side analysts predict that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mei Dong sold 39,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$76.33, for a total value of C$3,007,402.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$207,693.93. This represents a 93.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director Edmund Francis Murphy sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$86.20, for a total transaction of C$3,448,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$757,180.80. This represents a 81.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders have sold a total of 119,200 shares of company stock worth $9,821,888 over the last 90 days. 70.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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. In 2020, Great-West announced it would acquire Personal Capital and MassMutual's recordkeeping business. In Europe, Great-West offers life insurance, annuities, and reinsurance primarily in the U.K., Ireland, and Germany.

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