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

Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 233.05 ($3.10) and traded as high as GBX 241.70 ($3.21). Legal & General Group shares last traded at GBX 239.84 ($3.19), with a volume of 52,261,047 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Berenberg Bank reiterated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 265 ($3.52) price target on shares of Legal & General Group in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two equities research 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.com, Legal & General Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of GBX 267 ($3.55).

Legal & General Group Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is GBX 239.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 233.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 155.18, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of £14.20 billion, a PE ratio of 44.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.31.

Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) last announced its earnings results 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Legal & General Group Plc will post 24.2376446 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Legal & General Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 positive change from Legal & General Group’s previous dividend of $6.00. This represents a yield of 6.18%. Legal & General Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 387.68%.

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

Insider Transactions at Legal & General Group

In other Legal & General Group news, insider John Kingman purchased 677 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 243 ($3.23) per share, with a total value of £1,645.11 ($2,187.06). Also, insider Laura Wade-Gery acquired 1,159 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 235 ($3.12) per share, with a total value of £2,723.65 ($3,620.91). Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 43,301 shares of company stock valued at $10,493,400. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.