Head to Head Contrast: Great-West Lifeco (OTCMKTS:GWLIF) & Power Co. of Canada (OTCMKTS:PWCDF)

Power Co. of Canada (OTCMKTS:PWCDF – Get Rating) and Great-West Lifeco (OTCMKTS:GWLIF – Get Rating) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk and dividends.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

41.7% of Power Co. of Canada shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 11.8% of Great-West Lifeco shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Power Co. of Canada and Great-West Lifeco’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Power Co. of Canada	N/A	N/A	N/A
Great-West Lifeco	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

Power Co. of Canada pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. Great-West Lifeco pays an annual dividend of $1.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. Power Co. of Canada pays out 42.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Great-West Lifeco pays out 47.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Power Co. of Canada and Great-West Lifeco’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Power Co. of Canada	N/A	N/A	N/A	$2.72	9.05
Great-West Lifeco	N/A	N/A	N/A	$2.60	9.54

Power Co. of Canada is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Great-West Lifeco, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Power Co. of Canada and Great-West Lifeco, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Power Co. of Canada	0	1	0	0	2.00
Great-West Lifeco	0	1	1	0	2.50

Power Co. of Canada presently has a consensus price target of $38.86, suggesting a potential upside of 57.76%. Great-West Lifeco has a consensus price target of $35.78, suggesting a potential upside of 43.91%. Given Power Co. of Canada’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Power Co. of Canada is more favorable than Great-West Lifeco.

About Power Co. of Canada

(Get Rating)

Power Corp. of Canada is a management and holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services; asset management; and sustainable and renewable energy. It operates through the following segments: Lifeco, IGM Financial, and GBL. The Lifeco segment offers life and health insurance, retirement, and investment management services, and involves in the asset management and reinsurance businesses. The IGM Financial segment provides investment advisory and management services. The GBL segment focuses on long-term and sustainable value creation and is indirectly held through Parjointco. The company was founded by Arthur J. Nesbitt and Peter A. Thomson on April 18, 1925 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

About Great-West Lifeco

(Get Rating)

Great-West Lifeco, Inc. is a financial services holding company, which engages in the provision of life insurance, health insurance, retirement services, investment management and reinsurance services. It operates through the following segments: Canada, United States, Europe, and Lifeco Corporate. The Canada segment provides individual & group life insurance through the Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life. The United States segment offers asset management and financial services through the Great-West Financial, Putnam and insurance businesses in the branches of Great-West Life and Canada Life located in the U.S. The Europe segment consists of insurance, annuities and reinsurance business units. The Lifeco Corporate segment includes operating results for activities of Lifeco that are not associated with the major business units of the firm. The company was founded on November 8, 1979 and is headquartered in Winnipeg, Canada.