GREAT-WEST LIFECO INC. $21(Toronto symbol GWO; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 949.8 million; Market cap: $19.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend Yield: 5.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.greatwestlifeco.com) is Canada’s largest insurance company, with $523.0 billion of assets under administration. It also sells mutual funds, as well as retirement-planning and wealthmanagement services. Canada accounts for 53% of the company’s earnings, followed by Europe (31%) and the U.S. (16%).
In the three months ended March 31, 2012, Great-West’s earnings rose 8.7%, to $451 million, or $0.48 a share. A year earlier, it earned $415 million, or $0.44 a share. Revenue rose 3.9%, to $6.5 billion from $6.3 billion.
The gains mainly came from its European division, which earned $141 million, up 64.0% from $86 million a year earlier. That’s because it set aside $75 million in the year-earlier quarter to cover claims related to the earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand. Earnings fell 1.2% in Canada and 14.8% in the U.S.
The company continues to reduce the number of securities it holds from Greece, Portugal, Spain, Ireland and Italy. These countries now account for just 0.6% of its investment portfolio.
Great-West trades at just 10.0 times its likely 2012 earnings of $2.11 a share. The $1.23 dividend yields 5.9%.
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Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
The Successful Investor Inc. and its affiliate Successful Investor Wealth Management (referred to hereafter as TSI Network) know that you care how information about you is used and shared, and we appreciate your trust that we will do so carefully and sensibly. This notice describes our privacy policy. By visiting websites owned by or associated with TSI Network, you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy Policy.
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We do not collect or disclose personal information, except when it is provided to us voluntarily by the site/store visitor with their consent.
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We are continuously in the process of improving our sites and services. If any new features or policies require a change to this current policy, we will post a clear notice of this change on pages of our site where the privacy policy appears. The principle behind this privacy policy is to collect information with your knowledge and consent.
What personal information do we collect?
The information we receive from customers helps us personalize and continually improve your online experience at TSI Network. TSI Network may collect personal information online for all legal purposes, which include, but are not limited to:
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Does TSI Network Use the Information It Receives?
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Changes to this Policy
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