Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 252.64 and traded as high as GBX 273.45. Legal & General Group shares last traded at GBX 272.20, with a volume of 33,795,063 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LGEN has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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 report on Tuesday, March 24th. Berenberg Bank reissued a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 308 target price on shares of Legal & General Group in a report on Thursday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Legal & General Group from GBX 249 to GBX 263 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Legal & General Group from GBX 205 to GBX 220 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of GBX 261.67.

Legal & General Group Trading Up 1.7%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is GBX 257.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 252.74. The stock has a market cap of £15.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.95, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.81.

Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The financial services provider reported GBX 831 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Legal & General Group had a net margin of 0.91% and a return on equity of 15.89%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Legal & General Group Plc will post 24.2376446 earnings per share for the current year.

Legal & General Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, March 11th that allows the company to buyback 0 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ric Lewis bought 851 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 267 per share, for a total transaction of £2,272.17. Also, insider Andrew Kail sold 85,011 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 255, for a total value of £216,778.05. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 6,884 shares of company stock worth $1,831,202. Company 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.