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

Shares of Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN) 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 changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 276.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Legal & General Group from GBX 2,490 to GBX 2,510 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Berenberg Bank restated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 308 target price on shares of Legal & General Group in a report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut Legal & General Group to an “underperform” rating and set a GBX 185 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of GBX 573.71.

Legal & General Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of £15.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is GBX 262.03 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 259.

Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 11th. The financial services provider reported GBX 831 EPS 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 Plc will post 24.2376446 earnings per share for the current year.

Legal & General Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 11th that permits the company to buyback 0 shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Mark Jordy acquired 1,040 shares of Legal & General Group stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 253 per share, with a total value of £2,631.20. Also, insider Ric Lewis acquired 931 shares of Legal & General Group stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 253 per share, for a total transaction of £2,355.43. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 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 insiders.

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.