Analysts Set Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) PT at C$47.63

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the eight analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$47.63.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$43.00 to C$45.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$51.00 to C$55.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$47.00 to C$51.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$50.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Great-West Lifeco

In other news, Senior Officer Colleen Nancy Bailey Moffitt sold 825 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$49.11, for a total transaction of C$40,515.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 66 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$3,241.26. This trade represents a 92.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director Richard Henry Linton sold 35,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$46.27, for a total value of C$1,656,344.28. Insiders have sold a total of 88,425 shares of company stock valued at $4,139,548 in the last three months. 70.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Great-West Lifeco Price Performance

Shares of Great-West Lifeco stock traded up C$0.14 during trading on Wednesday, reaching C$49.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,494,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,653,166. Great-West Lifeco has a one year low of C$38.44 and a one year high of C$49.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of C$46.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$43.37. The company has a current ratio of 37.46, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61. The stock has a market capitalization of C$46.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Great-West Lifeco's payout ratio is presently 55.78%.

About Great-West Lifeco

Great-West Lifeco Inc engages in the life and health insurance, retirement and investment services, asset management, and reinsurance businesses in Canada, the United States, and Europe. The company offers life, accidental death and dismemberment, disability, critical illness, health and dental protection, and creditor insurance products; and retirement and wealth savings, income and annuity products, and other specialty products to individuals, families, businesses, and organizations.