iA Financial Co. Inc. (TSE:IAG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of iA Financial Co. Inc. (TSE:IAG) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$129.75.

Several research firms have weighed in on IAG. National Bank Financial lowered shares of iA Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Cormark raised their price objective on iA Financial from C$127.00 to C$130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Cibc World Mkts raised iA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. National Bankshares increased their price target on iA Financial from C$118.00 to C$121.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on iA Financial from C$126.00 to C$140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

iA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of TSE:IAG opened at C$131.95 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is C$117.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$100.71. iA Financial has a fifty-two week low of C$80.95 and a fifty-two week high of C$137.34. The company has a market capitalization of C$12.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 46.39, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 0.17.

iA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This is a boost from iA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. iA Financial’s payout ratio is presently 43.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Senior Officer Pierre Miron sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$129.23, for a total value of C$1,938,415.50. Also, Senior Officer Michael Lee Stickney sold 1,000 shares of iA Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$130.60, for a total value of C$130,600.00. Insiders have sold 47,000 shares of company stock worth $6,185,929 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

iA Financial Company Profile

iA Financial Corporation Inc, provides insurance and wealth management services in Canada and the United States. The company operates through Insurance, Canada; Wealth Management; Investment; and US Operations segments. The company provides health, auto, home, and creditor insurance products; replacement insurance products and warranties; extended warranties and other ancillary products for dealer services; specialized products for special markets; and life insurance products and extended warranties relating to dealer services.