iA Financial Co. Inc. (TSE:IAG) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of iA Financial Co. Inc. (TSE:IAG) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$129.75.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut iA Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from C$105.00 to C$137.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Scotiabank upped their price target on iA Financial from C$126.00 to C$143.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of iA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. National Bankshares boosted their price objective on shares of iA Financial from C$118.00 to C$121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of iA Financial from C$126.00 to C$140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Denis Ricard sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$137.00, for a total value of C$685,000.00. Also, Senior Officer Éric Jobin sold 1,000 shares of iA Financial 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,750 shares of company stock worth $7,239,429. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

iA Financial Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of TSE:IAG opened at C$130.66 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of C$12.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.13. iA Financial has a 12 month low of C$80.95 and a 12 month high of C$138.01. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is C$126.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$106.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 46.39.

iA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. This is a boost from iA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. iA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.91%.

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.