1,384,610 Shares in Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG Purchased by NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd

NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,384,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,072,000. Lloyds Banking Group comprises approximately 0.8% of NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LYG. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 151,258,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $801,673,000 after buying an additional 1,300,718 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $128,228,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 14,802,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,456,000 after acquiring an additional 673,473 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,279,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,828,000 after acquiring an additional 541,501 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 8,815,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309,359 shares during the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LYG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Berenberg Bank began coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Lloyds Banking Group from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of LYG opened at $5.93 on Monday. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a fifty-two week low of $4.20 and a fifty-two week high of $6.34. The company’s fifty day moving average is $6.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.60. The firm has a market cap of $86.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.86 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 24.97%. Analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.084 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a yield of 273.0%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.21%.

Lloyds Banking Group Profile

Lloyds Banking Group plc is a UK-based banking and financial services company that provides a broad range of retail, commercial and insurance products. Its principal consumer-facing brands include Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, through which it offers current accounts, savings, mortgages, credit cards and personal loans. The group also delivers services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and larger corporate clients, supplying business accounts, lending, payments and cash-management solutions.

In addition to core banking, Lloyds operates a significant wealth and insurance arm under the Scottish Widows brand, offering life insurance, pensions, investment and retirement planning products.