Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results

Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported GBX 831 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, Digital Look Earnings reports. Legal & General Group had a return on equity of 3.89% and a net margin of 1.49%.

Here are the key takeaways from Legal & General Group’s conference call:

• Management reported a strong 2025 with core operating EPS up 9%, Solvency II pro?forma coverage at 210%, OSG up 5% to £1.5bn and a 2% DPS increase while launching a record £1.2bn share buyback.
• The group has materially simplified the portfolio and secured strategic capital: it sold the US protection business to Meiji Yasuda for $2.3bn (Meiji building a ~5% stake) and has moved £1.5bn of disposals into a Corporate Investments Unit.
• Commercial momentum across core divisions: ~£12bn of PRT written (UK ~25% share) at low capital strain, Asset Management reached an ANNR inflection with £34m of annualized net new revenue and private markets AUM at £75bn, and Retail DC assets grew 21% to £114bn.
• Material headwinds remain: 2025 investment variances were sizeable (£771m), the group expects ongoing M&A/transformation costs of ~£100–200m p.a. for the next two years, and there is a temporary Tier?2 eligibility restriction while debt leverage sits ~33% pro?forma.
• Management set a new medium?term Solvency II operating range of 160%–190% and said future buybacks/dividend policy will be assessed against that range, market conditions and growth opportunities rather than be automatic triggers.

Legal & General Group Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of LGEN stock opened at GBX 246.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of £13.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.18, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.81. Legal & General Group has a 12 month low of GBX 206.80 and a 12 month high of GBX 279.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of GBX 264.49 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 250.61.

Legal & General Group declared that its board has authorized 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 buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Legal & General Group News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Legal & General Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board-authorised, record buyback (reportedly ~£1.2bn) signals management believes the shares are undervalued and supports near-term demand for stock. Legal & General launches record buyback
• Positive Sentiment: Berenberg reaffirmed a “buy” rating with a GBX 308 target, providing independent broker support that could attract value-seeking investors. Broker ratings (Digital Look)
• Positive Sentiment: Income case remains prominent—coverage noting an ~8.9% yield and the company’s long-term yield story may keep income-focused investors interested despite near-term volatility. As well as an 8.9%-yield, is there another reason to buy Legal & General’s shares after today’s results?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and commentators are re-checking valuation after recent price weakness—some see opportunity while others flag elevated P/E and lower profitability metrics. Valuation check after recent share price weakness
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released H2 earnings call highlights and slide deck (GBX 831 quarterly EPS reported); the release provides detail but did not fully reassure markets on capital metrics. Legal & General Group H2 Earnings Call Highlights
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings slightly missed expectations and the market reacted negatively—reports note a mixed set of results that undermined confidence. Britain’s L&G shares fall after earnings misses, lower solvency ratio
• Negative Sentiment: Solvency ratio declined (reports cite ~210%), a key capital metric for insurers; the drop, even alongside a buyback, raised concerns about balance-sheet resilience and drove near-term selling. Stock plunges despite record buyback

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LGEN has been the topic of several research reports. Berenberg Bank restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 308 price target on shares of Legal & General Group in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Legal & General Group from GBX 249 to GBX 263 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of GBX 262.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Legal & General Group news, insider Mark Jordy bought 986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 267 per share, with a total value of £2,632.62. Also, insider John Kingman bought 614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 267 per share, with a total value of £1,639.38. Insiders have bought 10,428 shares of company stock worth $2,757,069 over the last ninety days. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.