Head-To-Head Survey: Great-West Lifeco (GWLIF) & The Competition

Great-West Lifeco (OTCMKTS:GWLIF) is one of 316 publicly-traded companies in the “Insurance” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Great-West Lifeco to related businesses based on the strength of its earnings, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Great-West Lifeco and its peers revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Great-West Lifeco	N/A	N/A	24.79
Great-West Lifeco Competitors	$15.63 billion	$1.69 billion	34.03

Great-West Lifeco’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Great-West Lifeco. Great-West Lifeco is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares Great-West Lifeco and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Great-West Lifeco	N/A	N/A	N/A
Great-West Lifeco Competitors	10.29%	11.05%	4.11%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Great-West Lifeco and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Great-West Lifeco	0	3	5	0	2.62
Great-West Lifeco Competitors	3232	15321	16128	685	2.40

As a group, “Insurance” companies have a potential upside of 6.97%. Given Great-West Lifeco’s peers higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Great-West Lifeco has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

11.8% of Great-West Lifeco shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.8% of shares of all “Insurance” companies are held by institutional investors. 13.8% of shares of all “Insurance” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Great-West Lifeco pays an annual dividend of $1.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Great-West Lifeco pays out 47.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Insurance” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.0% and pay out 29.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Great-West Lifeco lags its peers as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Summary

Great-West Lifeco peers beat Great-West Lifeco on 11 of the 13 factors compared.

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. It provides individual product solutions and employer-sponsored retirement savings plans that offers saving, investment, and advisory services; wealth management including payout annuity, equity release mortgages, pensions, and investments products. In addition, the company offers bulk and individual payout annuities, equity release mortgages, life bonds, and retirement drawdown and pension products; savings and investments; and provides asset management services, such as pension schemes, insurance companies, wealth managers, fiduciary managers, and sovereign wealth funds, as well manages assets for third-party institutional clients. Further, it provides life, annuity/longevity, mortgage surety, and property catastrophe reinsurance products. The company offers its products under the Canada Life, Irish Life, and Empower brand names. It distributes its products through a network of sales force, brokers, consultants, advisors, third-party administrators, financial institutions, dealers, managing general agencies, employee benefit consultants, banks, and multi-tied agents. The company was founded in 1891 and is based in Winnipeg, Canada. Great-West Lifeco Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Power Financial Corporation.