Legal & General Group’s (LGEN) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Berenberg Bank

Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Berenberg Bank in a note issued to investors on Friday,London Stock Exchange reports. They currently have a GBX 308 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Berenberg Bank’s price target points to a potential upside of 21.67% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Legal & General Group from GBX 249 to GBX 263 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Legal & General Group from GBX 205 to GBX 220 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Legal & General Group from GBX 243 to GBX 249 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of GBX 261.67.

Legal & General Group Stock Up 0.6%

LGEN opened at GBX 253.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of £14.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.81. Legal & General Group has a fifty-two week low of GBX 217.20 and a fifty-two week high of GBX 279.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is GBX 255.54 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 253.97.

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ric Lewis purchased 851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 267 per share, for a total transaction of £2,272.17. Also, insider Laura Wade-Gery purchased 938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 267 per share, for a total transaction of £2,504.46. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 6,884 shares of company stock valued at $1,831,202 and have sold 410,095 shares valued at $106,048,563. 0.59% of the stock is 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.