Yahoo Finance Does Legal & General Group Plc's (LON:LGEN) CEO Pay Matter?
Nigel Wilson became the CEO of Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN) in 2012. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other large companies. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. This method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.
See our latest analysis for Legal & General Group
How Does Nigel Wilson's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
Our data indicates that Legal & General Group Plc is worth UK£15b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as UK£3.3m for the year to December 2018. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at UK£924k. We note that more than half of the total compensation is not the salary; and performance requirements may apply to this non-salary portion. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations over UK£6.4b and the median CEO total compensation was UK£3.7m. Once you start looking at very large companies, you need to take a broader range, because there simply aren't that many of them.
That means Nigel Wilson receives fairly typical remuneration for the CEO of a large company. While this data point isn't particularly informative alone, it gains more meaning when considered with business performance.
The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at Legal & General Group has changed from year to year.
Is Legal & General Group Plc Growing?
On average over the last three years, Legal & General Group Plc has grown earnings per share (EPS) by 16% each year (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 217% over the last year.
This shows that the company has improved itself over the last few years. Good news for shareholders. The combination of strong revenue growth with medium-term earnings per share improvement certainly points to the kind of growth I like to see. It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.
Has Legal & General Group Plc Been A Good Investment?
Most shareholders would probably be pleased with Legal & General Group Plc for providing a total return of 37% over three years. This strong performance might mean some shareholders don't mind if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for a company of its size.
In Summary...
Nigel Wilson is paid around what is normal the leaders of larger companies.
The company is growing earnings per share and total shareholder returns have been pleasing. So one could argue the CEO compensation is quite modest, if you consider company performance! CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling Legal & General Group (free visualization of insider trades).
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
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If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
