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

Intact Financial Co. (TSE:IFC)’s stock price 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.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. CIBC raised their price objective on shares of 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. National Bankshares lowered their price objective on shares of Intact Financial from C$250.00 to C$245.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Intact Financial from C$228.00 to C$229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Desjardins raised their target price on Intact Financial from C$235.00 to C$238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Intact Financial from C$230.00 to C$240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$237.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, Senior Officer Benoit Morissette sold 7,000 shares of the 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 currently owned by insiders.

Intact Financial Stock Up 1.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 34.90. The stock has a market cap of C$40.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.09, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of C$223.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$211.74.

Intact Financial (TSE:IFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported C$3.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of C$6.53 billion for the quarter. Equities research analysts expect that Intact Financial Co. will post 14.4651774 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intact Financial Increases Dividend

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

About Intact Financial

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.