Intact Financial (TSE:IFC) Sets New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Intact Financial Co. (TSE:IFC) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from C$256.00 to C$261.00. The company traded as high as C$23.00 and last traded at C$223.84, with a volume of 103737 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$221.06.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on IFC. TD Securities boosted their target price on Intact Financial from C$225.00 to C$235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Desjardins lifted their price target on Intact Financial from C$235.00 to C$238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Intact Financial from C$228.00 to C$229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. CIBC lifted their price target on Intact Financial from C$225.00 to C$250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on Intact Financial from C$221.00 to C$247.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$237.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Intact Financial news, Senior Officer Benoit Morissette sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$226.23, for a total value of C$1,583,589.00. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Intact Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of C$40.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average of C$223.61 and a 200 day moving average of C$211.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 34.90, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.38.

Intact Financial (TSE:IFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported C$3.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$3.44 by C$0.03. The firm had revenue of C$6.53 billion for the quarter. Intact Financial had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 4.59%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Intact Financial Co. will post 14.4651774 earnings per share for the current year.

Intact Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $1.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $4.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. This is an increase from Intact Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Intact Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 69.24%.

Intact Financial Company Profile

Intact Financial Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance products to individuals and businesses in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company offers insurance, such as personal auto which provides coverage from accidents, third party liability, and physical damage; personal property which provides protection for homes and contents from risks, including fire, theft, vandalism, water damages, other damages, and personal liability; and commercial line and specialty line insurance which provides commercial auto, property, and liability coverages.