iA Financial (TSE:IAG) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of iA Financial Co. Inc. (TSE:IAG) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as C$137.34 and last traded at C$135.30, with a volume of 167021 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$133.32.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on IAG. CIBC upped their target price on shares of iA Financial from C$133.00 to C$143.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Cibc World Mkts raised iA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. National Bank Financial downgraded iA Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. National Bankshares boosted their price objective on shares of iA Financial from C$118.00 to C$121.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of iA Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from C$105.00 to C$137.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$129.75.

iA Financial Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of C$12.87 billion, a PE ratio of 18.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 46.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of C$116.75 and a 200 day moving average price of C$100.03.

iA Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This is an increase from iA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. iA Financial’s payout ratio is currently 43.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at iA Financial

In related news, Director Denis Ricard sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$132.00, for a total value of C$1,320,000.00. Also, Senior Officer Éric Jobin sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$136.91, for a total transaction of C$136,913.00. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 37,000 shares of company stock worth $4,835,929. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

About iA Financial

iA Financial Corporation Inc, provides insurance and wealth management services in Canada and the United States. The company operates through Insurance, Canada; Wealth Management; Investment; and US Operations segments. The company provides health, auto, home, and creditor insurance products; replacement insurance products and warranties; extended warranties and other ancillary products for dealer services; specialized products for special markets; and life insurance products and extended warranties relating to dealer services.