Intact Financial (TSE:IFC) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Intact Financial Co. (TSE:IFC) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from C$256.00 to C$261.00. The stock 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.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of Intact Financial from C$225.00 to C$235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Intact Financial from C$230.00 to C$240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Intact Financial from C$228.00 to C$229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Desjardins lifted their price objective on Intact Financial from C$235.00 to C$238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, CIBC upped their target price on Intact Financial from C$225.00 to C$250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$237.20.

Insider Activity at Intact Financial

In other news, Senior Officer Benoit Morissette sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Intact Financial Trading Up 1.5 %

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is C$223.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$211.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 34.90, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of C$40.00 billion, a PE ratio of 32.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.54.

Intact Financial (TSE:IFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported C$3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$3.44 by C$0.03. Intact Financial had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 4.59%. The business had revenue of C$6.53 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Intact Financial Co. will post 14.4651774 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intact Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $1.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $4.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. This is a positive change from Intact Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Intact Financial’s payout ratio is presently 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.