Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 279.73 and traded as high as GBX 290.10. Legal & General Group shares last traded at GBX 287.92, with a volume of 14,604,462 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a GBX 185 price target on shares of Legal & General Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on Legal & General Group from GBX 353 to GBX 385 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Legal & General Group from GBX 285 to GBX 270 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Citigroup cut Legal & General Group to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from GBX 251 to GBX 245 in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Peel Hunt reaffirmed an “add” rating and issued a GBX 320 target price on shares of Legal & General Group in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Legal & General Group presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of GBX 276.86.

Legal & General Group Stock Up 0.8%

The company has a market capitalization of £15.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.03, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of GBX 294.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of GBX 279.73.

Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported GBX 8.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Legal & General Group had a net margin of 0.91% and a return on equity of 27.28%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Legal & General Group Plc will post 24.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Legal & General Group

In related news, insider Mark Jordy purchased 3,671 shares of Legal & General Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 288 per share, with a total value of £10,572.48. In the last three months, insiders purchased 11,042 shares of company stock worth $3,240,907. Corporate 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.