Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN) reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as GBX 206.80 ($2.67) and last traded at GBX 208.50 ($2.69), with a volume of 731486313 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 225.30 ($2.90).

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 265 ($3.42) target price on shares of Legal & General Group in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of GBX 267 ($3.44).

Legal & General Group Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of £12.25 billion, a PE ratio of 38.58, a P/E/G 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 241.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of GBX 231.13.

Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 12th. The financial services provider reported GBX 2.89 ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter. Legal & General Group had a net margin of 0.67% and a return on equity of 7.79%. Equities analysts forecast 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 disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 24th will be issued a GBX 15.36 ($0.20) dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. This is a boost from Legal & General Group’s previous dividend of $6.00. This represents a yield of 6.18%. Legal & General Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 387.68%.

Legal & General Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, March 12th that authorizes the company to buyback 0 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Legal & General Group

In other Legal & General Group news, insider Henrietta Baldock purchased 1,046 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 236 ($3.04) per share, with a total value of £2,468.56 ($3,181.95). Also, insider Tushar Morzaria bought 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 241 ($3.11) per share, with a total value of £48,200 ($62,129.41). Insiders have purchased a total of 43,188 shares of company stock worth $10,467,891 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.88% 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.