Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$43.31 and traded as high as C$49.36. Great-West Lifeco shares last traded at C$49.17, with a volume of 8,226,585 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWO has been the topic of a number of recent 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. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$43.00 to C$45.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. TD Securities boosted 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. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$50.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, CIBC upped their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$51.00 to C$55.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Great-West Lifeco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$47.63.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Up 0.3 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is C$46.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$43.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61, a quick ratio of 22.18 and a current ratio of 37.46. The stock has a market capitalization of C$46.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.47%. Great-West Lifeco’s payout ratio is 55.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Great-West Lifeco

In related news, Senior Officer Colleen Nancy Bailey Moffitt sold 825 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$49.11, for a total transaction of C$40,515.75. Following the sale, the insider now owns 66 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$3,241.26. This trade represents a 92.59 % decrease in their position. Also, Director Richard Henry Linton sold 35,800 shares of the 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. Insiders have sold a total of 88,425 shares of company stock valued at $4,139,548 in the last three months. 70.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.