Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Upgraded at Scotiabank

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) was upgraded by research analysts at Scotiabank from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

GWO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. CIBC boosted their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$55.00 to C$56.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$47.00 to C$51.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$46.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$47.88.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Down 0.3 %

GWO opened at C$46.85 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is C$47.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$45.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a current ratio of 37.46. Great-West Lifeco has a one year low of C$38.44 and a one year high of C$50.99. The stock has a market capitalization of C$43.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported C$1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Great-West Lifeco

In related news, Director Paul Mahon sold 146,826 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$49.88, for a total value of C$7,323,842.39. Also, Director Charles Donald Harvey Henaire sold 26,400 shares of the 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 174,613 shares of company stock valued at $8,697,880. 70.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.