Scotiabank Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Stock

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) had its price objective hoisted by analysts at Scotiabank from C$83.00 to C$95.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has a “sector outperform” rating on the stock. Scotiabank’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 2.65% from the company’s previous close.

GWO has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$64.00 to C$77.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. TD lifted their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$73.00 to C$80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce boosted their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$81.00 to C$95.00 in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$76.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$73.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$80.73.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Up 1.4%

TSE:GWO traded up C$1.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting C$92.55. 309,583 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,679,431. Great-West Lifeco has a fifty-two week low of C$51.40 and a fifty-two week high of C$92.97. The company has a market capitalization of C$83.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 6.57, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.59. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of C$83.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$72.03.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$8.37 billion during the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 15.17%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.4525194 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jean-Francois Poulin sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$89.55, for a total transaction of C$1,791,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$14,328. This trade represents a 99.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director Mei Dong sold 39,400 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$76.33, for a total transaction of C$3,007,402.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$207,693.93. This trade represents a 93.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 119,200 shares of company stock valued at $9,821,888. Company insiders own 70.70% of the company’s stock.

About Great-West Lifeco

Great-West Lifeco is one of the three big Canadian life insurance firms. With just under half of the firm’s profit and revenue in Canada, Great-West also operates in the U.S. and Europe. In Canada, Great-West provides both individual and group insurance. In the United States, Great-West operates Putnam Investments and defined-contribution recordkeeping firm Empower Retirement. In 2020, Great-West announced it would acquire Personal Capital and MassMutual’s recordkeeping business. In Europe, Great-West offers life insurance, annuities, and reinsurance primarily in the U.K., Ireland, and Germany.