GWO vs. MFC, L, SLF, PRU, CIA, ALS, STC, CNC, PIH, and ROOT
Should you be buying Great-West Lifeco stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of Great-West Lifeco include Manulife Financial (MFC), Loblaw Companies (L), Sun Life Financial (SLF), Perseus Mining (PRU), Champion Iron (CIA), Altius Minerals (ALS), Sangoma Technologies (STC), Canada Nickel (CNC), 8002 (PIH.TO) (PIH), and Roots (ROOT). These companies are all part of the "insurance" industry.
Great-West Lifeco vs. Its Competitors
Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) and Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) are both large-cap financial services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk and dividends.
Manulife Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Great-West Lifeco. Great-West Lifeco is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Manulife Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
In the previous week, Manulife Financial had 2 more articles in the media than Great-West Lifeco. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for Manulife Financial and 3 mentions for Great-West Lifeco. Great-West Lifeco's average media sentiment score of 0.70 beat Manulife Financial's score of 0.64 indicating that Great-West Lifeco is being referred to more favorably in the media.
Great-West Lifeco pays an annual dividend of C$2.33 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Manulife Financial pays an annual dividend of C$1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Great-West Lifeco pays out 58.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Manulife Financial pays out 54.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.
Great-West Lifeco currently has a consensus price target of C$56.67, suggesting a potential upside of 6.36%. Manulife Financial has a consensus price target of C$47.75, suggesting a potential upside of 11.80%. Given Manulife Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Manulife Financial is more favorable than Great-West Lifeco.
11.3% of Great-West Lifeco shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 31.3% of Manulife Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 70.7% of Great-West Lifeco shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Manulife Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Great-West Lifeco has a net margin of 16.06% compared to Manulife Financial's net margin of 12.52%. Great-West Lifeco's return on equity of 14.81% beat Manulife Financial's return on equity.
Great-West Lifeco has a beta of 0.681146, suggesting that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Manulife Financial has a beta of 0.982238, suggesting that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Manulife Financial beats Great-West Lifeco on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.
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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time
This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding GWO and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
Media Sentiment Over Time
This chart shows the average media sentiment of TSE and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
Great-West Lifeco Competitors List
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This page (TSE:GWO) was last updated on 9/17/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff
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