Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) Rating Reiterated by Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Standard Chartered (LON:STAN - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a GBX 1,300 ($16.18) price target on the financial services provider's stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on STAN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Standard Chartered to a market perform rating and set a GBX 790 ($9.83) price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Standard Chartered from GBX 850 ($10.58) to GBX 900 ($11.20) and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Shore Capital reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Standard Chartered in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on shares of Standard Chartered from GBX 1,000 ($12.45) to GBX 1,050 ($13.07) and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Standard Chartered currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of GBX 955.43 ($11.89).

Standard Chartered Price Performance

LON:STAN traded up GBX 18.40 ($0.23) during trading hours on Thursday, hitting GBX 661.60 ($8.24). 7,525,572 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,935,963. The stock has a market capitalization of £17.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 782.38, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.87. Standard Chartered has a 52-week low of GBX 571 ($7.11) and a 52-week high of GBX 766.60 ($9.54). The company's 50 day moving average price is GBX 650.82 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 652.53.

Standard Chartered Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This is a boost from Standard Chartered's previous dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a yield of 2.74%. Standard Chartered's dividend payout ratio is presently 2,500.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bill Winters sold 40,432 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 655 ($8.15), for a total value of £264,829.60 ($329,677.08). 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Standard Chartered Company Profile

Standard Chartered PLC, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. The company operates in three segments: Corporate, Commercial & Institutional Banking; Consumer, Private & Business Banking; and Ventures.