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

Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as GBX 285.80 and last traded at GBX 284.72, with a volume of 12154025 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 282.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LGEN. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Legal & General Group from GBX 205 to GBX 220 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Legal & General Group from GBX 2,490 to GBX 2,510 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Berenberg Bank reiterated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 308 price objective on shares of Legal & General Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Legal & General Group to an “underperform” rating and set a GBX 185 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Legal & General Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of GBX 573.71.

Legal & General Group Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 59.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1,100.04. The company’s fifty day moving average price is GBX 264.14 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 260.11. The company has a market capitalization of £15.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.23, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Laura Wade-Gery bought 988 shares of Legal & General Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 253 per share, with a total value of £2,499.64. Also, insider Mark Jordy bought 1,040 shares of Legal & General Group 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 90 days, insiders have purchased 4,758 shares of company stock worth $1,219,791 and have sold 410,095 shares worth $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.