Royal Bank Of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Stock

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised its Great-West Lifeco price target to C$91 from C$77 but maintained a “sector perform” rating; the new target implies about 0.93% downside from the reported C$91.85 share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$93.27. Several firms recently increased their targets, including Jefferies to C$107 and Scotiabank to C$100.
• Great-West Lifeco reported quarterly earnings of C$1.42 per share on C$8.35 billion in revenue, while insiders sold 119,200 shares worth about C$9.8 million over the last quarter.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from C$77.00 to C$91.00 in a report released on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage presently has a "sector perform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's target price would indicate a potential downside of 0.93% from the company's current price.

GWO has been the topic of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$90.00 to C$92.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$95.00 to C$100.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. National Bank Financial lifted their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$93.00 to C$95.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Desjardins boosted their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$93.00 to C$95.00 in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of C$93.27.

Great-West Lifeco Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Great-West Lifeco stock traded up C$1.42 during trading on Thursday, hitting C$91.85. 353,102 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,620,427. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.59, a current ratio of 6.57 and a quick ratio of 22.18. The firm has a market capitalization of C$82.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.67. The firm's fifty day moving average price is C$87.08 and its 200 day moving average price is C$73.92. Great-West Lifeco has a 1-year low of C$51.60 and a 1-year high of C$93.69.

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 net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 15.17%. The business had revenue of C$8.35 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Edmund Francis Murphy sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$86.20, for a total transaction of C$3,448,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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. Also, Director Mei Dong sold 39,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$76.33, for a total transaction of C$3,007,402.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$207,693.93. The trade was a 93.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders sold 119,200 shares of company stock worth $9,821,888 over the last quarter. 70.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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. 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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