Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Standard Chartered PLC (LON:STAN) reached a new 52-week high on Friday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from GBX 750 to GBX 800. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Standard Chartered traded as high as GBX 767 ($9.63) and last traded at GBX 760 ($9.55), with a volume of 628809250 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at GBX 756 ($9.50).

STAN has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Standard Chartered in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 1,300 ($16.33) price objective on shares of Standard Chartered in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on Standard Chartered from GBX 1,000 ($12.56) to GBX 1,050 ($13.19) and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Standard Chartered to a “market perform” rating and set a GBX 790 ($9.92) target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Shore Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Standard Chartered in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of GBX 951.33 ($11.95).

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bill Winters sold 24,101 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 665 ($8.35), for a total transaction of £160,271.65 ($201,321.00). Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Standard Chartered Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is GBX 674.73 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 647.57. The firm has a market cap of £19.78 billion, a PE ratio of 898.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.87.

Standard Chartered Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This is a boost from Standard Chartered’s previous dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a yield of 2.74%. Standard Chartered’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,500.00%.

About Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered PLC, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. The company operates in three segments: Corporate, Commercial & Institutional Banking; Consumer, Private & Business Banking; and Ventures.