Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Standard Chartered PLC (LON:STAN) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from GBX 750 to GBX 800. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Standard Chartered traded as high as GBX 767 ($9.63) and last traded at GBX 760 ($9.55), with a volume of 628809250 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at GBX 756 ($9.50).

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on STAN. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 1,300 ($16.33) target price on shares of Standard Chartered in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Berenberg Bank raised their target price on shares of Standard Chartered from GBX 1,000 ($12.56) to GBX 1,050 ($13.19) and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Standard Chartered to a “market perform” rating and set a GBX 790 ($9.92) price target for the company in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Shore Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Standard Chartered in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Standard Chartered in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 951.33 ($11.95).

Insider Activity at Standard Chartered

In other news, insider Bill Winters sold 24,101 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 665 ($8.35), for a total transaction of £160,271.65 ($201,321.00). 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Standard Chartered Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of £19.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 898.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 672.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 648.20.

Standard Chartered Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from Standard Chartered’s previous dividend of $0.06. Standard Chartered’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2,500.00%.

About Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered PLC, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. The company operates in three segments: Corporate, Commercial & Institutional Banking; Consumer, Private & Business Banking; and Ventures.