Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Legal & General shares rose above their 200-day moving average, reaching GBX 298.10 before last trading at GBX 292, with unusually high volume of 706.2 million shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally negative: the stock has an average “Reduce” rating and a GBX 276.86 target price, despite Berenberg upgrading it to “Buy” with a GBX 385 target.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of GBX 8.01 per share, while insiders purchased 7,295 shares worth approximately £2.16 million over the past 90 days.

Shares of Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN - Get Free Report) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of GBX 277.93 and traded as high as GBX 298.10. Legal & General Group shares last traded at GBX 292, with a volume of 706,215,250 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "underperform" rating and issued a GBX 270 price target on shares of Legal & General Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on Legal & General Group from GBX 353 to GBX 385 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup cut Legal & General Group to a "sell" rating and cut their target price for the stock from GBX 251 to GBX 245 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a GBX 185 price target on shares of Legal & General Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Legal & General Group from GBX 285 to GBX 270 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of GBX 276.86.

Legal & General Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of £15.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average of GBX 296.47 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 277.93.

Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported GBX 8.01 EPS for the quarter. Legal & General Group had a return on equity of 27.28% and a net margin of 0.91%. On average, research analysts forecast that Legal & General Group Plc will post 24.2376446 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Legal & General Group

In other Legal & General Group news, insider Mark Jordy acquired 3,651 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 290 per share, with a total value of £10,587.90. Insiders acquired 7,295 shares of company stock worth $2,161,771 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

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.

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