Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on LYG. Kepler Capital Markets raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Monday, August 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Monday, September 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of LYG opened at $4.49 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.44. Lloyds Banking Group has a one year low of $2.56 and a one year high of $4.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.21.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.86 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 17.51%. Equities research analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a $0.0655 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 370.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LYG. L1 Capital Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the second quarter worth $548,574,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 12.6% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 148,828,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $632,522,000 after purchasing an additional 16,705,846 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 178.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,448,691 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 6.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 24,154,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,269,000 after acquiring an additional 1,397,163 shares during the period. Finally, Beck Bode LLC purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the second quarter valued at about $5,254,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

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.