Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company.

LYG has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Berenberg Bank started coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Wednesday.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 1st quarter worth $128,228,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 2,413.7% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,113,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,661,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989,604 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 53.9% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 6,614,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,317,927 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 386.4% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,528,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,717,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 178.3% in the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 2,261,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,610,000 after buying an additional 1,448,691 shares during the period. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

NYSE:LYG opened at $6.07 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.61. The stock has a market cap of $88.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.12, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.87. Lloyds Banking Group has a 1-year low of $4.31 and a 1-year high of $6.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.86 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 24.97% and a return on equity of 10.94%. Research analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

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

About Lloyds Banking Group

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.