Legal & General (LGEN) Share Price on 4 December 2025: High‑Yield FTSE 100 Insurer Balances Big Payouts, Heavy Leverage and a Strategic Overhaul

Updated: 4 December 2025

Legal & General Group Plc (LSE: LGEN) enters the final month of 2025 as one of the FTSE 100’s most closely watched income stocks. Its shares are trading around the middle of their 12‑month range, its dividend yield is among the highest in the index, and management is part‑way through a major strategic reset that includes selling its US protection business, pivoting harder into private markets and retail pensions, and returning over £5bn to shareholders over three years. ^[1]

Below is a detailed rundown of where the stock stands today, what has moved it in recent months, and how analysts and investors are framing the risk–reward.

Legal & General share price today (4 December 2025)

Legal & General’s own investor website shows the share price at about 249.9p late morning on 4 December 2025, broadly flat on the day. ^[2]

Data from the London Stock Exchange and third‑party trackers indicate:

Latest trade (intraday, 4 Dec 2025): roughly 250p
Previous close (3 Dec 2025): 250.0p ^[3]
52‑week range: about 206.8p to 266.2p, putting today’s price in the upper half of the band and roughly 6–7% below the 12‑month high. ^[4]

In other words, after a strong run into late November, the stock is consolidating just under its recent highs rather than languishing at bargain‑basement levels.

On the US OTC market, the LGGNF and LGGNY lines change hands at roughly $3.3–3.4, also near the upper half of their 52‑week ranges. ^[5]

So far today (4 December), there has been no new company‑specific RNS from Legal & General; the modest moves in the share price seem to be the market continuing to digest a heavy flow of news from the last few months rather than reacting to a fresh headline.

Big strategic moves: selling US protection and promising £5bn+ in capital returns

The defining news for Legal & General in 2025 has been its February agreement to sell its US protection (term life) business to Meiji Yasuda for a valuation of $2.3bn, alongside a long‑term strategic partnership. ^[6]

Key elements of that deal:

Meiji Yasuda buys the US protection business outright.
It also takes a 20% economic interest in L&G’s US pension risk transfer (PRT) business while L&G retains 80% via reinsurance. ^[7]
Meiji intends to acquire about 5% of Legal & General’s shares, deepening the strategic alignment. ^[8]

Crucially for shareholders, management has tied the transaction directly to capital return:

L&G plans a £1bn share buyback funded from the proceeds. ^[9]
This sits within a wider commitment to return over £5bn to shareholders over three years through dividends and buybacks — equivalent to roughly 40% of the company’s market value when announced. ^[10]

That £5bn plan builds on:

A £200m buyback in 2024 as the first step under the refreshed strategy. ^[11]
A £500m buyback for 2025, of which about 90% was already completed by early August 2025. ^[12]

Taken together, Legal & General is in the middle of one of the largest capital‑return programmes in the UK insurance sector, and that is a core reason its dividend yield screens so high.

Earnings momentum and capital strength: H1 2025 in focus

Legal & General’s 2025 half‑year results, published in August, show a business that is growing earnings and generating capital while absorbing restructuring and buybacks. ^[13]

Headline numbers for H1 2025 (vs H1 2024):

Core operating profit: £859m, up 6%
Core operating EPS: 10.94p, up 9%
IFRS profit before tax: £406m, up 28%
Solvency II capital generation: £729m, up 3%
Solvency II coverage ratio:217%, even after allowing for the ongoing £500m buyback. ^[14]

Operationally:

Global PRT new business reached £5.2bn year‑to‑date (including deals in exclusivity), more than double the comparable period a year earlier. ^[15]
In Institutional Retirement, operating profit rose around 11% to £618m, reflecting growth in the PRT back book and new deals. ^[16]
Workplace pensions (DC) assets under administration hit roughly £101bn, with net new flows up more than 20% year‑on‑year. ^[17]

The H1 update also reaffirmed Legal & General’s intention to return over £5bn in dividends and buybacks over three years, and highlighted a “store of future profit” of over £13bn under IFRS 17 (CSM plus risk adjustment). ^[18]

From a capital perspective, a mid‑teens billions surplus under Solvency II and a coverage ratio above 200% give the group room to fund both growth and distributions, although those metrics will be watched closely as the US sale completes and further buybacks roll through.

Retail pivot: Investor Deep Dive and the shift from PRT to pensions & fees

On 23 October 2025, Legal & General held an Investor Deep Dive for its Retail division, which spans workplace pensions, annuities, lifetime mortgages and protection. ^[19]

Key messages from that event:

L&G is a top‑three provider across its four retail markets and serves 12.4m UK customers, with over £300bn of retail wealth assets and more than £200bn of DC assets under management. ^[20]
The group expects UK workplace DC assets to double to about £1.5trn by 2034, and retail annuity volumes to grow roughly 2.5x to around £20bn annually, creating a long runway for decumulation products. ^[21]
Retail has two near‑term targets for 2024–28:
- £40–50bn of Workplace DC net flows
- 4–6% compound annual growth in Retail operating profit
Over the next decade, management expects fee‑based earnings to rise from under 15% to about 40% of Retail‑originated profits, as DC scale and drawdown solutions grow. ^[22]

In a notable line, the company said that Retail is expected to replace PRT as the main growth engine of the UK annuity asset portfolio over time, with annuity assets still growing at around 5–6% per year on average for the next two decades even as PRT volumes eventually stabilise. ^[23]

This Retail messaging ties directly into CEO António Simões’ broader strategy: tilt the group towards capital‑lighter, fee‑rich businesses while continuing to exploit a still‑booming PRT market.

PRT engine still running hot: Ford deal and wider volumes

Even as the company emphasises Retail, pension risk transfer remains its biggest profit contributor for now.

In early November, Legal & General announced a £4.6bn buy‑in for Ford’s UK pension schemes, one of the largest single UK PRT deals of 2025. ^[24]
Across H1 and subsequent pipeline, L&G has completed or is in exclusivity on about £5.2bn of PRT transactions, with visibility on a much larger deal pipeline over the next 12 months. ^[25]

Simões has repeatedly argued that UK corporate pension buy‑outs show no signs of slowing, despite regulatory reforms that may allow companies to tap surplus pension assets directly and despite growing competition from North American‑backed insurers. Reuters recently quoted him saying that demand is, if anything, accelerating, with L&G having secured around £11bn of buy‑outs year‑to‑date by late October. ^[26]

For investors, that PRT pipeline is both a strength and a risk: it underpins near‑term earnings and capital generation, but it is capital‑intensive and eventually finite as defined benefit schemes wind down.

Blackstone partnership, Proprium acquisition and the private‑markets push

Another major 2025 theme is Legal & General’s push into private markets and higher‑margin assets:

The company has agreed a private credit partnership with Blackstone that could channel up to $20bn of assets by 2030 into US investment‑grade private credit for L&G’s annuity business. ^[27]
L&G has acquired a 75% stake in Proprium Capital Partners, a global real‑estate private equity firm with about $3.5bn in assets, with an option to take 100% in time. The deal is intended to help grow private‑market assets from around £50bn to £85bn and support a target of £500–600m in asset management operating profit by 2028. ^[28]
The group has also restructured parts of LGIM (its asset management business), merging index funds and ETF units and cutting roles to refocus on higher‑margin strategies, again leaning into private markets. ^[29]

Alongside these commercial moves, Legal & General has pledged £2bn of new investment into UK housing and infrastructure over five years as part of a broader £3bn package announced with AustralianSuper and Nest to support UK private markets. ^[30]

This blend of annuity liabilities on one side and illiquid private assets on the other is central to the business model – and is exactly what makes the stock both attractive and complex to analyse.

Governance and leadership: new chair, new senior hires

On the governance front, 2025 has brought significant board changes:

In October, L&G announced that Scott Wheway will succeed Sir John Kingman as chair of the group, joining the board as chair designate on 2 January 2026 and taking over fully after the AGM on 21 May 2026. ^[31]
Wheway brings experience from Scottish Widows, Aviva and other retail‑financial roles. Some commentators view the appointment as steady rather than radical, but his consumer and regulatory background should be helpful as L&G leans further into Retail and UK policy debates. ^[32]

Within the executive ranks, L&G has in November:

Appointed Emma Holden as Chief People Officer, and
Appointed Andy Sinclair as Chief Strategy and Investor Relations Officer, both explicitly tasked with helping deliver the growth strategy set out in June 2024. ^[33]

These moves follow Simões’ earlier restructuring of the group into three core divisions – Institutional Retirement, Asset Management and Retail – with non‑core businesses placed into a Corporate Investments unit for disposal. ^[34]

Dividend yield and capital‑return profile: why income investors care

From an income‑investor perspective, Legal & General’s appeal is obvious:

Consensus forecasts compiled by the company show full‑year 2025 dividend per share of 21.79p. ^[35]
With the share price around 250p, that implies a forward dividend yield of about 8.7–8.8%.
- (21.79 ÷ 250 ≈ 0.087, or 8.7%.)
The board has already delivered a 5% dividend increase for FY 2024, and guided to 2% annual growth from HY 2025 for three years, alongside substantial buybacks. ^[36]

Several financial commentators have highlighted Legal & General as offering one of the highest, and most established, dividend yields in the FTSE 100, albeit with the usual warnings that high yields can signal elevated risk. ^[37]

Importantly, management insists that the over‑£5bn capital‑return plan is backed by robust capital generation and strengthened by the sale of the US protection business, which initially boosts the Solvency II ratio and releases capital to redeploy. ^[38]

Analyst and quant forecasts: modest upside, strong income, divided opinions

Consensus fundamentals

Legal & General’s own formal consensus, published on 1 December 2025, aggregates estimates from around nine sell‑side analysts: ^[39]

2025 core operating profit: ~£1.65bn
Core operating EPS:21.24p
Dividend per share:21.79p
Solvency II coverage ratio: around 223% expected at year‑end

Those numbers imply mid‑single‑digit EPS growth and a payout ratio not far off 100% of operating earnings, though buybacks and the US sale complicate the picture.

Price targets and ratings

External broker and data‑provider views are mixed:

MarketBeat reports a “Moderate Buy”‑type consensus on the London line, with an average 12‑month price target around 257p, and a range from about 210p (RBC, “underperform”) to 289p (Berenberg, “buy”). ^[40]
For the US OTC line LGGNF, Fintel summarises RBC Capital Markets as maintaining an “Underperform” rating with a target price equivalent to around 8–9% upside from recent levels, reflecting caution about leverage and the capital‑intensive business mix. ^[41]
Simply Wall St’s fair‑value models suggest the stock trades well below their estimate of intrinsic value, with earnings forecast to grow in the mid‑20% per year range over the next few years as restructuring benefits come through. ^[42]

In short: most fundamental analysts see modest capital upside plus a very high income stream, while at least one major house (RBC) is publicly sceptical.

Technical and trading signals

On the technical side:

StockInvest’s analysis of LGEN.L shows the London‑listed shares closing at 250p on 3 December 2025, with a 52‑week range of 206.8p–266.2p and recent performance up roughly 6–7% over the last two weeks. Their model has upgraded the stock from “Buy” to “Strong Buy candidate”, pointing to positive moving‑average signals and low day‑to‑day volatility. ^[43]
For LGGNF in the US, the same service notes a $3.33 close on 3 December and similarly positive short‑term momentum, classifying it as a Buy candidate. ^[44]

Technical systems can, of course, change stance quickly, but they currently sit on the bullish side of the fence.

Balance sheet and leverage: the uncomfortable side of the story

If the income and capital‑return story is the bright side, the balance sheet is where sceptics focus.

Independent data from Simply Wall St and other analysts highlight that:

Legal & General carries very high reported leverage, with debt‑to‑equity ratios measured in the high triple‑digits or even quadruple‑digits depending on how insurance liabilities and equity are defined (numbers above 1,000% are quoted in some models). ^[45]
Return on equity (ROE) under those definitions often looks modest relative to the leverage, leading some commentators to flag a “high debt, low ROE” combination as a risk factor. ^[46]

These high ratios are partly an artefact of insurance accounting — insurers naturally run with large long‑dated liabilities — but the message is clear: L&G’s model is structurally leveraged, and investors are relying on good asset selection, disciplined risk management and supportive regulation.

The CEO himself has acknowledged that investors remain to be fully convinced. In an October interview, Simões described the current period as a “show‑me phase”, noting that Legal & General’s shares were still down a few percent since he took over even as rivals like Aviva rallied strongly. ^[47]

For anyone considering the stock, this means dividend sustainability, capital buffers and asset quality deserve as much attention as the headline yield.

Fresh headlines on 4 December 2025: portfolio moves and insider buying

While there is no major new corporate RNS on 4 December itself, several related news items are in the mix:

Insider buying: On 3 December, MarketBeat highlighted that Legal & General insider Jeff Davies has been steadily buying small tranches of stock — 83 shares in October at 236p, 82 shares in November at 241p, and 81 shares in December at 245p. The article also quotes a one‑year trading range of 206.8p–266.2p and a consensus target around 257p. ^[48]
Institutional portfolio shifts: 13F‑based reports published today show Legal & General Group Plc adjusting positions in several US names, including Carlyle Secured Lending (CGBD), First Majestic Silver (AG), Exponent (EXPO) and Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (MDGL). These moves reflect L&G’s role as a global asset manager rather than changes in its own capital structure; they are unlikely, by themselves, to be major drivers of LGEN’s share price. ^[49]

For Google News and Discover‑style readers, these smaller stories underline that Legal & General remains highly active in capital markets, both as issuer and investor.

Macro backdrop and political risk: UK budget jitters and pension policy

Legal & General is deeply entwined with the UK economy and policy framework, and 2025 has reminded investors of that fact:

In an October interview with Reuters, Simões warned that uncertainty over the UK’s November budget was weighing on investor sentiment and on L&G’s own shares. He cautioned that any tax changes which deter pension saving would be “really concerning”, and described L&G as something of a proxy for the UK economy. ^[50]
The same interview and related FT coverage emphasised that while L&G is committing billions to UK infrastructure and housing, it must also compete with capital‑lighter peers and specialist PRT rivals backed by global private‑equity capital. ^[51]

This macro overlay matters: high yields can persist for a long time in stocks that the market views as proxies for domestic political and regulatory risk.

How LGEN looks today: trade‑offs into 2026

Putting all of this together, the Legal & General investment case on 4 December 2025 looks something like this:

Positives

Very high forward dividend yield (~8.7–9%), backed by strong current capital ratios and an explicit commitment to return over £5bn via dividends and buybacks. ^[52]
Solid earnings momentum, with H1 2025 showing mid‑single‑digit profit growth and strong PRT volumes. ^[53]
A clear strategic pivot towards fee‑based Retail and private markets, supported by the Blackstone partnership, the Proprium acquisition, and long‑term growth in DC pensions and annuities. ^[54]
Evidence of ongoing insider buying and a consensus view that the shares offer at least modest upside from current levels. ^[55]

Risks

High structural leverage and balance‑sheet complexity, with large annuity and PRT books funded by long‑dated assets in sometimes illiquid private markets. ^[56]
Heavy exposure to UK macro and policy risk, including tax treatment of pensions, regulation of PRT and the broader political climate. ^[57]
Execution risk: delivering on the US exit, capital‑return promises, LGIM restructuring, private‑markets growth and Retail targets simultaneously is non‑trivial. ^[58]
The possibility that high payout ratios constrain reinvestment or have to be moderated if markets or credit conditions turn less friendly. ^[59]

For income‑focused investors comfortable with UK financials and insurance balance sheets, Legal & General remains a flagship high‑yield name with a well‑telegraphed capital‑return story. For more conservative or growth‑oriented investors, the combination of leverage, regulatory sensitivity and capital‑intensive PRT exposure may justify the continued discount implied by its valuation and the cautious stance of some analysts.