FTSE 100-listed Legal & General Group PLC (GB:LGEN) today reported a core operating profit of £849 million for the first half of 2024, exceeding the company-compiled analysts’ consensus estimate of £834 million. The profit also surpassed £844 million reported in the same period of 2023. Consequently, the company raised its interim dividend for 2024 to 6p per share from 5.71p per share in H1 2023. LGEN stock gained 1.05% as of writing.
Legal & General Group is a financial services company that offers a wide array of products and solutions in the insurance, wealth management, savings, and investment segments.
LGEN’s First-Half Performance
Even though LGEN’s first-half performance showed resilience, it also included some unfavorable aspects. In the first half, Legal & General reported a total operating profit of £920 million, down £4 million compared to H1 2023. In addition, after-tax profit fell by 41% year-over-year to £223 million, while the company’s AUM (assets under management) declined by 3% to £1.14 trillion.
Nonetheless, a decline in AUM was offset by a significant increase in individual annuities. Notably, individual annuities doubled to £1.2 billion from £575 million, benefitting from the current higher interest environment.
Overall, dividends and the announcement of a new buyback are expected to be welcomed by investors in the current environment. LGEN announced share buybacks worth £200 million, marking its first buyback in over a decade.
Moving forward, the company expects its core operating profit in 2024 to rise by mid-single digits compared to 2023.
Is Legal & General Stock a Good Buy?
As per the consensus rating on TipRanks, LGEN stock received a Moderate Buy rating, backed by six Buy and four Hold recommendations. The Legal & General share price forecast is 267.50p, which is 22.3% higher than the current level.
See more LGEN analyst ratings.
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