StockNews.com Upgrades Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) to “Hold”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday.

LYG has been the topic of several other research reports. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. HSBC raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:LYG opened at $3.98 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $60.22 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $3.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.22. Lloyds Banking Group has a fifty-two week low of $2.56 and a fifty-two week high of $4.00.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.78 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 8.46%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $0.1035 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. This is a boost from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. May Hill Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $227,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,126,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,064,000 after buying an additional 70,838 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 288,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $786,000 after buying an additional 39,685 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 389.2% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 133,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 106,128 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth about $11,226,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

About Lloyds Banking Group

Lloyds Banking Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of banking and financial services in the United Kingdom and internationally. It operates in three segments: Retail; Commercial Banking; and Insurance, Pensions and Investments. The Retail segment offers a range of financial service products, including current accounts, savings, mortgages, motor finance, unsecured loans, leasing solutions, and credit cards to personal customers.