Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Stock Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$44.09 and traded as high as C$46.64. Great-West Lifeco shares last traded at C$46.55, with a volume of 3,993,343 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GWO shares. CIBC raised their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$51.00 to C$55.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$42.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$43.00 to C$45.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$44.00 to C$50.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$47.00 to C$51.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Great-West Lifeco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$47.63.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Up 0.5 %

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 company has a market cap of C$43.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s fifty day moving average is C$48.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$44.15.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.75%. Great-West Lifeco’s payout ratio is 55.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Senior Officer Colleen Nancy Bailey Moffitt sold 825 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at C$3,241.26. This trade represents a 92.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director Richard Henry Linton sold 35,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 209,851 shares of company stock worth $10,327,502 in the last ninety days. 70.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.