iA Financial (TSE:IAG) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

iA Financial Co. Inc. (TSE:IAG)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a moderate buy rating. The stock traded as high as C$225.14 and last traded at C$220.43, with a volume of 50,189 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$213.61.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on IAG. Desjardins lifted their price target on iA Financial from C$220.00 to C$230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Scotia upped their price objective on shares of iA Financial from C$198.52 to C$223.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. TD upped their price objective on shares of iA Financial from C$219.00 to C$225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of iA Financial from C$225.00 to C$235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of iA Financial from C$168.00 to C$198.52 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$217.17.

Trending Headlines about iA Financial

Investors following IAG have been watching these headlines:

• Positive Sentiment: iA Financial reported third-quarter results and announced a 7% increase to its common dividend, signaling higher returns for shareholders. iA Financial Group Reports Q3 Results, Announces 7% Common Dividend Increase
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced a buyback of 4,355,019 shares, equal to 5% of issued share capital. Repurchases can support per-share value by reducing the number of shares outstanding. iA Financial Announces Equity Buyback
• Positive Sentiment: RBC upgraded iA Financial to Outperform, while another rating update raised its recommendation from Hold to Moderate Buy. The upgrades suggest a more favorable view of the shares. RBC Upgrades iA Financial to Outperform

iA Financial Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of C$209.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$186.02. The stock has a market cap of C$19.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.74.

iA Financial (TSE:IAG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 9th. The company reported C$4.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$3.06 billion during the quarter. iA Financial had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 7.71%. As a group, research analysts expect that iA Financial Co. Inc. will post 11.62 earnings per share for the current year.

About iA Financial

iA Financial Group is one of the largest insurance and wealth management groups in Canada, with operations in the United States. Founded in 1892, it is an important Canadian public company and is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IAG (common shares). To learn more about iA Financial Group, you can sign up for our newsletter on our website at ia.ca. iA Financial Group is a business name and trademark of iA Financial Corporation Inc.