4 Ways Legal & General Group Plc Will Continue To Lead The Life Insurance Sector

How does Legal & General Group Plc (LON: LGEN) compare to its sector peers?

| More on:

The content of this article was relevant at the time of publishing. Circumstances change continuously and caution should therefore be exercised when relying upon any content contained within this article.

When investing, your capital is at risk. The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you put in.

Read More

The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to be, nor does it constitute, any form of personal advice. Investments in a currency other than sterling are exposed to currency exchange risk. Currency exchange rates are constantly changing, which may affect the value of the investment in sterling terms. You could lose money in sterling even if the stock price rises in the currency of origin. Stocks listed on overseas exchanges may be subject to additional dealing and exchange rate charges, and may have other tax implications, and may not provide the same, or any, regulatory protection as in the UK.

You’re reading a free article with opinions that may differ from The Motley Fool’s Premium Investing Services. Become a Motley Fool member today to get instant access to our top analyst recommendations, in-depth research, investing resources, and more. Learn More.

Right now I’m comparing some of the most popular companies in the FTSE 100 with their sector peers in an attempt to establish which one is the more attractive investment.

Today I’m looking at Legal & General (LSE: LGEN) (NASDAQOTH: LGGNY.US).

Valuation

To begin with, how does the company’s valuation compare to its closest peers and the wider life insurance sector?

Currently, Legal & General trades at a historic P/E of 14.5, which is below the life insurance sector average of 21.

Furthermore, Legal & General’s closet profitable peer, Old Mutual (LSE: OML) trades at a historic P/E of 15.4, making Legal & General look cheaper still.

Legal & General’s other closet peer by market capitalisation is Aviva (LSE: AV) (NYSE: AV.US). However, as Aviva made a loss during 2012, it has not been possible for me to calculate many of the figures required for Aviva within this article. 

Balance sheet

  Assets under management Return on equity
Legal & General $563  billion 29%
Aviva $513 billion N/A%
Old Mutual $464 billion 8%

Surprisingly, despite its lower than average valuation, Legal & General has the highest value of assets under management in the group and achieves the best return on shareholder equity.

With more than half-a-trillion dollars in asset under management, I believe that Legal & General deserves a premium over its peers and not a discount, which it currently has. 

Company’s performance

  Earnings growth past five years Net profit margin
Legal & General -6% 14%
Aviva N/A% N/A
Old Mutual 17% 15%

Unfortunately, over the last four years Legal & General’s earnings have slipped slightly. However, despite shrinking earnings, Legal & General has improved its cash generation over this period.

Indeed, the firms cash generated from operating activities has grown 360% during the five-year period as earnings have fallen. As cash is king in business, cash generated from operating activities can be a more revealing operating metric than earnings growth.

In comparison, Old Mutual, which increased earnings 17% over the five-year period only noted an 88% rise in cash generated from operations.

Dividends

  Current Dividend Yield Current dividend cover Projected annual dividend growth for next two years.
Legal & General 3.8% 1.8 34%
Aviva 4.4% N/A -13%
Old Mutual 3.6% 2.5 31%
Sector average 3.5% 1.4  

Legal & General has paid a dividend since 1998 but was forced to slash its payout twice, during 2008 and again in 2009 as the financial crisis took hold.

However, after these two cuts the payout quickly returned to new highs . Indeed, since the first cut during 2008 Legal & General’s dividend payout has expanded a compounded 28%, or 7% a year.

What’s more, with payout growth of 34% expected over the next two years and a 3.8% yield covered nearly twice by earnings, Legal & General’s dividend looks extremely attractive. 

Foolish summary

All in all, it would appear that Legal & General is a highly cash-generative business, with a solid dividend payout and is currently trading at a discount to its sector peers.

So overall, I feel that Legal & General is a much stronger share than its peers. 

Should you invest, the value of your investment may rise or fall and your capital is at risk. Before investing, your individual circumstances should be assessed. Consider taking independent financial advice.

> Rupert does not own any share mentioned in this article

More on Investing Articles

Engineer Project Manager Talks With Scientist working on Computer
Investing Articles

I reckon this S&P 500 stock could be among the best shares for me to buy today

This S&P 500 monopoly stock's trading at a 30% discount to its historical valuation just as growth could be about…

Read more »

Investing Articles

A ridiculously cheap FTSE 250 stock to buy today?

The FTSE 250's rising by double-digits, but this stock's seemingly falling behind despite higher cash flows and dividends. At a…

Read more »

Investing Articles

The FTSE 100’s trading near a 52-week high! I’m still looking to buy

The FTSE 100's slowly making its way towards record highs, but there are still dirt cheap buying opportunities to discover…

Read more »

Smiling senior white man talking through telephone while using laptop at desk.
Investing Articles

1 surging stock I think could gatecrash the FTSE 100 in 2025!

Royston Wild reckons this FTSE 250 share is heading all the way to the Footsie. Here he explains why it's…

Read more »

artificial intelligence investing algorithms
Investing Articles

Should I buy skyrocketing Palantir stock for my ISA in 2025?

This red-hot artificial intelligence share has even outperformed Nvidia so far this year. Is it finally time I added it…

Read more »

Affectionate Asian senior mother and daughter using smartphone together at home, smiling joyfully
Investing Articles

2 of my favourite UK growth shares this December!

These FTSE 250 growth shares offer excellent value right now. Here's why I'll buy them for my portfolio if the…

Read more »

Mature Caucasian woman sat at a table with coffee and laptop while making notes on paper
Investing Articles

10% dividend growth! 2 FTSE 100 stocks tipped to supercharge cash payouts

These FTSE 100 stocks have strong records of dividend growth. And they're expected to keep on delivering, as Royston Wild…

Read more »

Investing Articles

Down 17% in a month and yielding 7.39%! Is this FTSE 100 share a screaming buy for me?

When Harvey Jones bought Taylor Wimpey last year he thought this FTSE 100 share was a brilliant long-term buy-and-hold. Has…

Read more »