Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 231.12 ($3.05) and traded as high as GBX 239.80 ($3.16). Legal & General Group shares last traded at GBX 238.40 ($3.14), with a volume of 19,407,727 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Berenberg Bank restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 265 ($3.49) target price on shares of Legal & General Group in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 267 ($3.52).

Legal & General Group Trading Up 3.2 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 239.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of GBX 231.12. The company has a market capitalization of £13.97 billion, a PE ratio of 44.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 155.18, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.50.

Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 7.79% and a net margin of 0.67%. Analysts anticipate that Legal & General Group Plc will post 24.2376446 earnings per share for the current year.

Legal & General Group Increases Dividend

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

Legal & General Group declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, March 12th that allows the company to repurchase 0 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Henrietta Baldock purchased 1,016 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 243 ($3.20) per share, with a total value of £2,468.88 ($3,255.38). Also, insider Clare Bousfield acquired 20,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 244 ($3.22) per share, with a total value of £49,700.36 ($65,533.18). Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 43,188 shares of company stock worth $10,467,891. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.