Direct Line Insurance Group plc (LON:DLG) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Direct Line Insurance Group plc (LON:DLG) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is GBX 206 ($2.76).

DLG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a GBX 195 ($2.61) target price on shares of Direct Line Insurance Group in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Berenberg Bank dropped their price target on Direct Line Insurance Group from GBX 220 ($2.94) to GBX 215 ($2.88) and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 240 ($3.21) price objective on shares of Direct Line Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, September 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Carol Hagh purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 195 ($2.61) per share, for a total transaction of £19,500 ($26,083.47). In the last three months, insiders bought 10,161 shares of company stock valued at $1,980,106. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Direct Line Insurance Group Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Direct Line Insurance Group stock opened at GBX 185.80 ($2.49) on Wednesday. Direct Line Insurance Group has a 12-month low of GBX 149.50 ($2.00) and a 12-month high of GBX 240.10 ($3.21). The firm has a market capitalization of £2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 807.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average is GBX 183.83 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 193.81.

Direct Line Insurance Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of GBX 2 ($0.03) per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 12th. This represents a yield of 1.04%. Direct Line Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,608.70%.

About Direct Line Insurance Group

Direct Line Insurance Group plc engages in the provision of general insurance products and services in the United Kingdom. The company operates through Motor, Home, Rescue and Other Personal Lines, and Commercial segments. It offers motor, home, van, landlord, rescue, pet, tradesperson, business, creditor and select, and travel insurance products, as well as commercial insurance for small and medium-sized enterprises.