Insider Buying: Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN) Insider Purchases 80 Shares of Stock

Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN) insider Jeff Davies bought 80 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 245 ($3.17) per share, with a total value of £196 ($253.39).

Legal & General Group Stock Performance

LON:LGEN traded down GBX 1.43 ($0.02) during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting GBX 243.07 ($3.14). 14,683,077 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,871,531. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is GBX 241.63 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 230.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 155.18. Legal & General Group Plc has a one year low of GBX 211.40 ($2.73) and a one year high of GBX 266.20 ($3.44). The firm has a market cap of £14.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.31.

Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The financial services provider reported GBX 2.89 ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Legal & General Group had a net margin of 0.67% and a return on equity of 7.79%. Research analysts anticipate that Legal & General Group Plc will post 24.2376446 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Legal & General Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of GBX 15.36 ($0.20) per share. This is a boost from Legal & General Group’s previous dividend of $6.00. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a dividend yield of 6.18%. Legal & General Group’s payout ratio is 387.68%.

Legal & General Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, March 12th that allows the company to repurchase 0 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LGEN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Berenberg Bank restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 265 ($3.43) price target on shares of Legal & General Group in a research note on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Legal & General Group from GBX 290 ($3.75) to GBX 295 ($3.81) and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “top pick” rating on shares of Legal & General Group in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 267 ($3.45).

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.