Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is GBX 261.67.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LGEN. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Legal & General Group from GBX 243 to GBX 249 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Legal & General Group from GBX 249 to GBX 263 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Legal & General Group from GBX 205 to GBX 220 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Berenberg Bank restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 308 price objective on shares of Legal & General Group in a research report on Thursday, March 12th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Mark Jordy purchased 986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 267 per share, with a total value of £2,632.62. Also, insider John Kingman acquired 614 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 267 per share, for a total transaction of £1,639.38. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 10,428 shares of company stock valued at $2,757,069. 0.59% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Legal & General Group Trading Up 0.4%

Legal & General Group stock opened at GBX 237.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of £13.38 billion, a PE ratio of 53.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.81. Legal & General Group has a 12 month low of GBX 206.80 and a 12 month high of GBX 279.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is GBX 261.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is GBX 250.56.

Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The financial services provider reported GBX 831 earnings per share for the quarter. Legal & General Group had a net margin of 0.91% and a return on equity of 15.89%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Legal & General Group will post 24.2376446 EPS for the current year.

Legal & General Group announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.