{
  "id": 549911,
  "title": "Goldman, UBS cut L&G as credit leverage and pension risks weigh",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/11/goldman-ubs-cut-l-g-as-credit-leverage-and-pension-risks-weigh",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-11T09:10:41.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Investing.com",
    "slug": "investing-com",
    "url": "https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/goldman-ubs-cut-lg-as-credit-leverage-and-pension-risks-weigh-4850973"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Legal & General Group's shares experienced a 3% decline on Tuesday following downgrades from Goldman Sachs and UBS. Citi Research joined the trend, also reducing its rating to \"sell.\" Citi cited a decrease in 2026-27 remittance forecasts by 4.5%, attributed to lower pension buyout volumes underwritten at a reduced IFRS margin. This led to a 15.4% negative total return, accounting for a 22.5% share-price decline and a 7.1% dividend yield. Goldman Sachs lowered its target price to £2.45, indicating a 17.4% downside from L&G's 311.2 pence closing price. The firm raised its 2026 core operating EPS estimate by 2%, driven by higher Asset Management earnings, but cut its 2027-2030 estimates by about 3% on average due to increased Institutional Retirement asset optimisation and higher costs. UBS also reduced its target price to 280 pence from 260 pence, projecting a 12% downside from the 316 pence closing price on August 7. The downgrade was driven by a falling UK bulk purchase annuity margin and lower expected EPS growth in the Institutional Retirement business.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "Legal & General shares fell 3% after downgrades from Goldman Sachs and UBS.",
    "Citi Research cut its rating to \"sell\" citing lower pension buyout volumes.",
    "Goldman Sachs lowered target price to £2.45, indicating 17.4% downside."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The downgrades from Goldman Sachs and UBS signal that L&G's credit leverage and pension risks have become more concerning, threatening investor returns and putting downward pressure on the stock price.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}