Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$45.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$43.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$47.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays set a C$43.00 price objective on Great-West Lifeco and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price 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 Great-West Lifeco news, Director Richard Henry Linton sold 35,800 shares of the business's 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 transaction of C$1,656,344.28. In other news, Director Charles Donald Harvey Henaire sold 25,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$44.72, for a total value of C$1,135,888.00. Also, Director Richard Henry Linton sold 35,800 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction 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 own 70.70% of the company's stock.

Great-West Lifeco Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of TSE GWO traded down C$0.31 during trading on Friday, reaching C$47.01. The company had a trading volume of 603,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,673,228. Great-West Lifeco has a 12 month low of C$37.07 and a 12 month high of C$47.76. The company has a quick ratio of 22.18, a current ratio of 37.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61. The stock has a market cap of C$43.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. The company's fifty day moving average price is C$45.36 and its 200-day moving average price is C$42.47.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported C$1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of C$1.05 by C$0.06. Great-West Lifeco had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.21%. The business had revenue of C$8.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$9.83 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 earnings per share for the current year.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Great-West Lifeco's payout ratio is 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.