M&G (LON:MNG) Trading 0.8% Higher - Time to Buy?

M&G plc (LON:MNG - Get Free Report) shot up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as GBX 204.30 ($2.72) and last traded at GBX 203.61 ($2.71). 4,026,062 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 28,366,740 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 202 ($2.69).

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of M&G from GBX 230 ($3.06) to GBX 225 ($3.00) and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th.

M&G Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of GBX 203.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 201.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 218.70. The stock has a market capitalization of £4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.66, a PEG ratio of -2.76 and a beta of 1.47.

M&G (LON:MNG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported GBX (15.10) (($0.20)) earnings per share for the quarter. M&G had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 4.31%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that M&G plc will post 24.2485207 earnings per share for the current year.

M&G Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a dividend of GBX 23.50 ($0.31) per share. This is a boost from M&G's previous dividend of $6.60. This represents a yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. M&G's payout ratio is currently 285.20%.

M&G Company Profile

M&G plc is a leading savings and investments business, managing investments for both individuals and for large institutional investors, such as pension funds, around the world. We have a single corporate identity, M&G plc, and two customer-facing brands: Prudential and M&G Investments. Prudential offers savings and insurance for customers in the UK and Europe and for asset management in South Africa.