Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) Board of Directors Announces Share Buyback Plan

Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, March 12th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback 0 shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Legal & General Group Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of LON:LGEN traded up GBX 1.90 ($0.02) during trading on Thursday, hitting GBX 241.20 ($3.12). 66,361,086 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,437,332. The stock has a market capitalization of £14.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.53, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 155.18, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.50. Legal & General Group has a 12-month low of GBX 211.40 ($2.74) and a 12-month high of GBX 266.20 ($3.45). The firm’s 50 day moving average price is GBX 237.42 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 229.27.

Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The financial services provider reported GBX 2.89 ($0.04) EPS for the quarter. Legal & General Group had a net margin of 0.67% and a return on equity of 7.79%. On average, research analysts predict that Legal & General Group will post 24.2376446 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on LGEN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “top pick” rating on shares of Legal & General Group in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Berenberg Bank reiterated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 265 ($3.43) price target on shares of Legal & General Group in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Legal & General Group from GBX 290 ($3.76) to GBX 295 ($3.82) and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Legal & General Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 267 ($3.46).

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Kingman acquired 716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 230 ($2.98) per share, with a total value of £1,646.80 ($2,133.16). Also, insider Tushar Morzaria acquired 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 241 ($3.12) per share, for a total transaction of £48,200 ($62,435.23). Insiders have acquired 23,455 shares of company stock valued at $5,642,935 in the last ninety days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.