great-west lifeco

GREAT-WEST LIFECO INC., $27.11, Toronto symbol GWO, has agreed to buy Irish Life Group Ltd., Ireland’s largest pension manager and life insurance provider. The company has over 1 million clients and $50 billion of assets under management. The government of Ireland purchased Irish Life in June 2012, after its former parent company, Irish Life & Permanent, ran into financial difficulty. Great-West will pay $1.75 billion for Irish Life when the deal closes in July 2013. To put that in context, Great-West earned $2.0 billion, or $2.06 a share, in 2012. To help pay for this purchase, Great-West will sell $1.25 billion of new common shares at $25.70 each. That will increase the number of shares outstanding by 5%....

GREAT-WEST LIFECO $24.20 (Toronto symbol GWO; Shares outstanding: 950.5 million; Market cap: $23.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.1%) is Canada’s largest insurance company, with $532.0 billion in assets under administration. It also sells mutual funds, retirement-planning and wealth management services. Power Financial owns 68.2% of Great-West.

In the quarter ended September 30, 2012, earnings rose 13.8%, to $520 million, or $0.55 a share. A year earlier, it earned $457 million, or $0.48 a share. Revenue rose 1.5%, to $8.6 billion from $8.5 billion.

Earnings from the Canadian division (which supplies 54% of the total) rose 19.6%. Stronger sales to individuals offset lower demand for group policies. As well, the value of the assets this division manages rose, which pushed up its fee income.

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Dear safe-money investor,

Great-West continues to report gains at all of its divisions. That’s mainly because of its conservative approach to expansion. This has kept it out of variable annuities and other stock-market-linked products that would require it to meet big future obligations, even if markets drop....

GREAT-WEST LIFECO $23.52 (Toronto symbol GWO; Shares outstanding: 949.9 million; Market cap: $22.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.2%) is Canada’s largest insurance company, with $532.0 billion in assets under administration. It also operates in the U.S. and Europe.

In the three months ended September 30, 2012, Great-West’s earnings rose 13.8%, to $520 million, or $0.55 a share. A year earlier, it earned $457 million, or $0.48. Revenue rose 1.5%, to $8.6 billion from $8.5 billion.

The company’s balance sheet is strong. As well, Great-West trades at just 11.5 times the $2.05 a share that it is likely to earn in 2012. The stock yields a high 5.2%.

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When you select finance-sector investments, we recommend that you begin with Canada’s big-five banks due to their long record of profits and rising dividends. We then recommend diversifying your holdings with non-bank finance stocks like these four. Conservative investors should stick with Great-West and IGM. More aggressive investors should also consider Home Capital and Dundee. GREAT-WEST LIFECO INC. $23 (Toronto symbol GWO; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 949.9 million; Market cap: $21.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend Yield: 5.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.greatwestlifeco.com) is Canada’s largest insurance company, with $532.3 billion of assets under administration. It also sells mutual funds and financial services, such as retirement planning and wealth management. Power Financial (Toronto symbol PFC) owns 68.2% of Great-West....

GREAT-WEST LIFECO $23.52 (Toronto symbol GWO; Shares outstanding: 949.9 million; Market cap: $22.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.2%) is Canada’s largest insurance company, with $532.0 billion in assets under administration. It also operates in the U.S. and Europe. In the three months ended September 30, 2012, Great-West’s earnings rose 13.8%, to $520 million, or $0.55 a share. A year earlier, it earned $457 million, or $0.48. Revenue rose 1.5%, to $8.6 billion from $8.5 billion. The company’s balance sheet is strong. As well, Great-West trades at just 11.5 times the $2.05 a share that it is likely to earn in 2012. The stock yields a high 5.2%....

GREAT-WEST LIFECO $22.23 (Toronto symbol GWO; Shares outstanding: 949.8 million; Market cap: $21.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.5%) is Canada’s largest insurance company, with $523.6 billion in assets under administration. It operates under several well-known banners, including Great West Life, Canada Life and Freedom 55. It also sells mutual funds and retirement planning and wealth management services. Power Financial Corp. owns 68.2% of Great-West.

In the three months ended June 30, 2012, Great-West’s revenue rose 9.2%, to $7.8 billion from $7.1 billion a year earlier. Earnings fell 6.7%, to $491 million, or $0.52 a share, from $550 million, or $0.55 a share.

Earnings declined from exceptionally strong results a year ago, but they still beat the consensus estimate of $0.48 a share.

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GREAT-WEST LIFECO $22.23 (Toronto symbol GWO; Shares outstanding: 949.8 million; Market cap: $21.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.5%) is Canada’s largest insurance company, with $523.6 billion in assets under administration. It operates under several well-known banners, including Great West Life, Canada Life and Freedom 55. It also sells mutual funds and retirement planning and wealth management services. Power Financial Corp. owns 68.2% of Great-West. In the three months ended June 30, 2012, Great-West’s revenue rose 9.2%, to $7.8 billion from $7.1 billion a year earlier. Earnings fell 6.7%, to $491 million, or $0.52 a share, from $550 million, or $0.55 a share. Earnings declined from exceptionally strong results a year ago, but they still beat the consensus estimate of $0.48 a share....

GREAT-WEST LIFECO INC. $22 (Toronto symbol GWO; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 949.8 million; Market cap: $20.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend Yield: 5.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.greatwestlifeco.com) is Canada’s largest insurance company, with $523.6 billion of assets under administration. It also sells mutual funds and retirement planning and wealth management services. Power Financial Corp. (Toronto symbol PFC) owns 68.2% of Great-West.

Top brands are a big plus

In Canada, the company sells its products under several well-known banners, including Great West Life, Canada Life and Freedom 55. The Canadian division supplies 51% of Great-West’s earnings.

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GREAT-WEST LIFECO INC. $22 (Toronto symbol GWO; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 949.8 million; Market cap: $20.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend Yield: 5.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.greatwestlifeco.com) is Canada’s largest insurance company, with $523.6 billion of assets under administration. It also sells mutual funds and retirement planning and wealth management services. Power Financial Corp. (Toronto symbol PFC) owns 68.2% of Great-West. Top brands are a big plus In Canada, the company sells its products under several well-known banners, including Great West Life, Canada Life and Freedom 55. The Canadian division supplies 51% of Great-West’s earnings....