Inspire Investing LLC Buys New Shares in Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG

Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 623,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,649,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Advisor Resource Council purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the first quarter valued at $37,000. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the first quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on LYG shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 0.6%

Lloyds Banking Group stock opened at $4.44 on Friday. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a fifty-two week low of $2.56 and a fifty-two week high of $4.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $66.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.09, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.18.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.04. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 17.51%.The business had revenue of $6.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.86 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were given a $0.0655 dividend. This represents a yield of 370.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is 32.50%.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

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.