Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as C$22.35 and last traded at C$92.26, with a volume of 1409883 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$92.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GWO shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$86.00 to C$87.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. National Bank Financial lifted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$93.00 to C$95.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$84.00 to C$107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$95.00 to C$100.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, TD increased their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$98.00 to C$106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$93.27.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is C$91.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$81.66. The company has a market capitalization of C$82.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.63, a current ratio of 6.07 and a quick ratio of 22.18.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported C$1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$8.35 billion for the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a net margin of 12.49% and a return on equity of 15.48%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Great-West Lifeco Inc. will post 4.4525194 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 29th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.89%.

Great-West Lifeco Company Profile

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.