Great-West Lifeco Inc. (GWO) To Go Ex-Dividend on May 31st

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 1st, TickerTech reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of 0.555 per share on Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

Shares of Great-West Lifeco stock traded up C$0.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting C$42.23. 1,202,920 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,261,810. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of C$41.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$42.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.33, a current ratio of 12.42 and a quick ratio of 22.18. The stock has a market capitalization of C$39.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.86. Great-West Lifeco has a 12-month low of C$37.06 and a 12-month high of C$45.18.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported C$1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.99 by C$0.05. The company had revenue of C$20.21 billion for the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.28%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Great-West Lifeco will post 4.137561 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. CIBC raised their target price on Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$46.00 in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, National Bankshares boosted their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$43.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$43.60.

Insider Activity at Great-West Lifeco

In other news, Senior Officer Dervla Mary Tomlin sold 5,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$42.33, for a total value of C$228,590.10. In other Great-West Lifeco news, Senior Officer Bradley John Fedorchuk sold 2,900 shares of Great-West Lifeco stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$42.44, for a total transaction of C$123,062.08. Also, Senior Officer Dervla Mary Tomlin sold 5,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$42.33, for a total transaction of C$228,590.10. Insiders have sold 13,300 shares of company stock valued at $566,402 over the last three months. 70.57% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.