Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as GBX 280.90 and last traded at GBX 280.70, with a volume of 14701501 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 276.30.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on LGEN. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Legal & General Group from GBX 205 to GBX 220 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Legal & General Group from GBX 2,490 to GBX 2,510 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Berenberg Bank reissued a “buy” rating and set a GBX 308 price objective on shares of Legal & General Group in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of GBX 573.71.

Legal & General Group Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is GBX 262.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 259. The stock has a market cap of £15.40 billion, a PE ratio of 28.82, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.81.

Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Legal & General Group Plc will post 24.2376446 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Legal & General Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 11th that allows the company to buyback 0 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Legal & General Group

In other Legal & General Group news, insider Andrew Kail sold 204,858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 271, for a total transaction of £555,165.18. Also, insider António Simões sold 120,226 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 240, for a total transaction of £288,542.40. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 4,758 shares of company stock valued at $1,219,791 and sold 410,095 shares valued at $106,048,563. 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.