Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Given New C$53.00 Price Target at Desjardins

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Desjardins from C$49.00 to C$53.00 in a research note issued on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Desjardins’ target price points to a potential upside of 3.50% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$51.00 to C$53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$59.00 to C$60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays raised their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$46.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, CIBC upgraded shares of Great-West Lifeco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from C$56.00 to C$60.00 in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$52.22.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

Shares of GWO stock traded down C$1.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting C$51.21. The stock had a trading volume of 486,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,595,915. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61, a current ratio of 37.46 and a quick ratio of 22.18. The firm has a market capitalization of C$47.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average is C$47.33 and its 200 day moving average is C$46.01. Great-West Lifeco has a twelve month low of C$38.44 and a twelve month high of C$52.47.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported C$1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$1.08 by C$0.06. Great-West Lifeco had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 11.32%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Great-West Lifeco

In other Great-West Lifeco news, Director Charles Donald Harvey Henaire sold 26,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$49.50, for a total value of C$1,306,800.00. Also, Senior Officer Colleen Nancy Bailey Moffitt sold 825 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$49.11, for a total transaction of C$40,515.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 66 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$3,241.26. The trade was a 92.59 % decrease in their position. Insiders have sold 174,613 shares of company stock valued at $8,697,880 in the last quarter. Insiders own 70.70% of the company’s stock.

Great-West Lifeco Company Profile

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.