Legal & General Shares

gudda96

Hi All

Any opinions of L/G shares, they give a great % dividend so do many feel they are "as safe as houses" as far as one can say about any share. I do prefer to leave them there for the income i get, just need some reassurance?

Mikeeee_2

LGEN have been around for donkey's years. They are still hugely profitable but their margins have taken a bit of a hit in the last couple of years. Their Solvency II ratio is high which allows them to write new business if needs be, possibly built on purpose. Dividend cover is 1.9 so no major worries about that. They are a safe, solid, well run business that isn't going to grow massively or shoot the lights out. As a solid dividend payer, I have been comfortable picking up shares in the dips around the 200-220p mark.

To me, it's a very boring, low risk stock that trades in a range. That's not a bad thing at all when it comes to high dividend payers like this.

Mark_d

In my opinion when you invest in an insurance company you're essentially investing in the things that they invest in.  I would say that your investment is very stable as far as shares/bonds are concerned though the value is likely to track the stock market to a degree.

Unless you're predicting a stock market crash, I see no reason why you should see your L&G shares

gudda96

I agree, it is a mammoth company and I realise if a president/pm sneezes, shares can go down, but only because of panic selling, I feel pretty confident and am impressed with their dividend which I use to boost my income.

dunstonh

L&G is a strange one.  It doesn't have much activity for new business across all areas nowadays.   You sort of wonder why it still exists and hasnt faded away like many others.   My gut tells me that it sits back on its corporate pension side more nowadays.

wmb194

Just another opinion amongst many so take it with a pinch of salt but a couple of days ago Berenberg upgraded L&G to a, 'buy' from hold. Amongst other things it thinks there may be some growth in annuities.

https://citywire.com/wealth-manager/news/stock-talk-berenberg-upgrades-l-and-g-on-strong-buying-signals/a2433572

dunstonh

wmb194 said:

Just another opinion amongst many so take it with a pinch of salt but a couple of days ago Berenberg upgraded L&G to a, 'buy' from hold. Amongst other things it thinks there may be some growth in annuities.

https://citywire.com/wealth-manager/news/stock-talk-berenberg-upgrades-l-and-g-on-strong-buying-signals/a2433572

However, that ship may have sailed.  Prior to mid December, L&G were top of the pile for most people on annuities.  They were lapping it up.  Now they are coming out near bottom.   Their servicing of new business annuities  is way behind and they have priced themselves out of new business.

wmb194

dunstonh said:

wmb194 said:

Just another opinion amongst many so take it with a pinch of salt but a couple of days ago Berenberg upgraded L&G to a, 'buy' from hold. Amongst other things it thinks there may be some growth in annuities.

https://citywire.com/wealth-manager/news/stock-talk-berenberg-upgrades-l-and-g-on-strong-buying-signals/a2433572

However, that ship may have sailed.  Prior to mid December, L&G were top of the pile for most people on annuities.  They were lapping it up.  Now they are coming out near bottom.   Their servicing of new business annuities  is way behind and they have priced themselves out of new business.

Perhaps it had its fill? Anyway, the next results are due on 06/03/24 so we'll find out then.

Hoenir

dunstonh said:

L&G is a strange one.  It doesn't have much activity for new business across all areas nowadays.   You sort of wonder why it still exists and hasnt faded away like many others.   My gut tells me that it sits back on its corporate pension side more nowadays.

Will benefit from the future uptake of annuity contracts. Also the venture into affordable homes. Suspect that many (recent) investors have become desensitised to the broad range of risks that exist when buying company shares. Thanks to the zero rate interest rate era. Boring companies, like the dinosaurs themselves, will survive. 

Roger175

gudda96, you don't give any info about your wider situation or investment strategy. I hold LGEN as part of my portfolio, have done for over 15 year and have topped up many times during that period, but that's part of a broad high-yield share portfolio with shares in around 30 individual companies. Ok, possibly a few too many, but if you are going to hold individual shares, you need to make sure you are well diversified across the various sectors. 

gudda96

Thanks for all comments, it seems that most replies, like me, considerate it a safe company, no need to talk about the dividend as that is obvious.