Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) Hits New 12-Month High After Insider Buying Activity

Shares of Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as GBX 291.90 and last traded at GBX 288.51, with a volume of 15934198 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 286.40.

Specifically, insider Mark Jordy acquired 3,683 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 287 per share, for a total transaction of £10,570.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LGEN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Berenberg Bank reissued a “buy” rating and set a GBX 308 price target on shares of Legal & General Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Legal & General Group from GBX 205 to GBX 220 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Legal & General Group to an “underperform” rating and set a GBX 185 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Legal & General Group from GBX 2,490 to GBX 2,510 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Legal & General Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of GBX 573.71.

Legal & General Group Trading Up 0.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1,100.04, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 59.08. The stock has a market capitalization of £15.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 268.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of GBX 262.79.

Legal & General Group declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, March 11th that allows the company to buyback 0 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.