Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as GBX 283.01 and last traded at GBX 267.01, with a volume of 30162658 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 265.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LGEN shares. Berenberg Bank restated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 308 price objective on shares of Legal & General Group in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective 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. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Legal & General Group from GBX 243 to GBX 249 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Legal & General Group from GBX 249 to GBX 263 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Legal & General Group to an “underperform” rating and set a GBX 185 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Legal & General Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of GBX 250.71.

Legal & General Group Stock Up 0.4%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is GBX 253.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 255.52. The stock has a market capitalization of £14.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.53, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.80.

Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The financial services provider reported GBX 831 EPS for the quarter. Legal & General Group had a net margin of 0.91% and a return on equity of 15.89%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Legal & General Group Plc will post 24.2376446 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Legal & General Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, March 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase 0 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Legal & General Group

In related news, insider Ric Lewis purchased 931 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 253 per share, with a total value of £2,355.43. Also, insider Mark Jordy purchased 1,040 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 253 per share, for a total transaction of £2,631.20. In the last three months, insiders have bought 7,085 shares of company stock worth $1,840,038 and have sold 410,095 shares worth $106,048,563. Company insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

About Legal & General Group

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.