Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as GBX 285.80 and last traded at GBX 284.72, with a volume of 12154025 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 282.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LGEN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Legal & General Group from GBX 205 to GBX 220 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Berenberg Bank restated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 308 price target on shares of Legal & General Group in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Legal & General Group from GBX 2,490 to GBX 2,510 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Legal & General Group to an “underperform” rating and set a GBX 185 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of GBX 573.71.

Legal & General Group Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 59.08, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1,100.04. The firm has a market cap of £15.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of GBX 265.14 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 260.53.

Legal & General Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, March 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase 0 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew Kail sold 204,858 shares of Legal & General Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 271, for a total value of £555,165.18. Also, insider Laura Wade-Gery purchased 988 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 253 per share, for a total transaction of £2,499.64. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 4,758 shares of company stock valued at $1,219,791. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Legal & General Group Company Profile

Legal & General Group Plc provides various insurance products and services in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates in Legal & General Retirement Institutional (LGRI), Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), Legal & General Capital (LGC), and Retail segments. The LGRI segment offers annuity contracts with guaranteed income for a specified time; and longevity insurance products. The LGIM segment offers index fund management; active fixed income funds and liquidity funds; active equity management; solution and liability driven investment; multi-asset funds; corporate pension scheme solutions; and real assets.