Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Sets New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Great-West Lifeco shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as C$94.99 and closing around C$94.52, supported by strong recent price momentum.
• Analysts have raised several price targets, including Jefferies at C$107 and TD at C$106. The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target of C$93.27.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of C$1.42 on C$8.35 billion in revenue and declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.67, equal to C$2.68 annually and a 2.8% yield.

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as C$94.99 and last traded at C$94.52, with a volume of 61169 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$93.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$84.00 to C$107.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Desjardins increased their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$93.00 to C$95.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. TD raised their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$98.00 to C$106.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$77.00 to C$91.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$86.00 to C$87.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$93.27.

Great-West Lifeco Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 22.18, a current ratio of 6.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.63. The company's 50-day moving average is C$91.46 and its 200-day moving average is C$81.03. The stock has a market cap of C$84.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.61.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported C$1.42 earnings per share for the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a return on equity of 15.48% and a net margin of 12.49%.The firm had revenue of C$8.35 billion for the quarter. Equities research analysts expect that Great-West Lifeco Inc. will post 4.4525194 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 29th will be given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Great-West Lifeco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.89%.

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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