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

Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as GBX 280.90 and last traded at GBX 280.70, with a volume of 14701501 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 276.30.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LGEN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on Legal & General Group from GBX 2,490 to GBX 2,510 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Legal & General Group to an “underperform” rating and set a GBX 185 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a GBX 308 price target on shares of Legal & General Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Legal & General Group from GBX 205 to GBX 220 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Legal & General Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of GBX 573.71.

Legal & General Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of £15.40 billion, a PE ratio of 28.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50-day moving average price is GBX 262.54 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 259.15.

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

Legal & General Group declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, March 11th that permits the company to buyback 0 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Legal & General Group

In other news, insider António Simões sold 120,226 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 240, for a total transaction of £288,542.40. Also, insider Mark Jordy acquired 1,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 253 per share, for a total transaction of £2,631.20. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 4,758 shares of company stock valued at $1,219,791 and sold 410,095 shares valued at $106,048,563. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.