Legal & General Group’s (LGEN) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Berenberg Bank

Berenberg Bank reiterated their buy rating on shares of Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) in a report issued on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a GBX 308 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on LGEN. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Legal & General Group from GBX 205 to GBX 220 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Legal & General Group from GBX 243 to GBX 249 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Legal & General Group from GBX 249 to GBX 263 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of GBX 261.67.

Legal & General Group Stock Up 1.3%

LGEN stock traded up GBX 3.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching GBX 254.90. 1,569,091,375 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 60,864,945. The stock has a market cap of £14.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.81. Legal & General Group has a fifty-two week low of GBX 217.20 and a fifty-two week high of GBX 279.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is GBX 255.54 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 253.97.

Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The financial services provider reported GBX 831 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Legal & General Group had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 0.91%. On average, analysts anticipate that Legal & General Group will post 24.2376446 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Legal & General Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, March 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase 0 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ric Lewis purchased 931 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 253 per share, with a total value of £2,355.43. Also, insider Andrew Kail sold 204,858 shares of Legal & General Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 271, for a total transaction of £555,165.18. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 10,493 shares of company stock worth $2,744,279 and have sold 410,095 shares worth $106,048,563. Company insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Legal & General Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Legal & General Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple insider purchases by the chair and non-executive directors (including Sir John Kingman, Mark Jordy, Ric Lewis and others) at ~GBX 253 signal board-level confidence and support for the share price. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Berenberg reaffirmed a “buy” rating with a GBX 308 price target, providing third‑party validation of upside vs current levels and likely supporting demand. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighting Legal & General’s attractive income profile (an ~8.8% dividend cited) can draw yield‑seeking investors into the stock. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company admitted 137,479 new ordinary shares under the sharesave scheme to the London listing — routine employee share issuance that marginally increases free float. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Legal & General published an update on share capital and voting rights following its buyback (procedural disclosure). Buybacks are supportive, but the update itself is administrative. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: TPFG has taken a 25% stake in Meridian HoldCo (parent of Legal & General Surveying Services). This is a strategic third‑party transaction around a subsidiary and is unlikely to materially change group fundamentals near term. Read More.

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. The LGRI segment offers annuity contracts with guaranteed income for a specified time; and longevity insurance products. The LGIM segment offers index fund management; active fixed income funds and liquidity funds; active equity management; solution and liability driven investment; multi-asset funds; corporate pension scheme solutions; and real assets.