Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Rating Increased to Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of LYG stock opened at $3.80 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $57.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.98. Lloyds Banking Group has a fifty-two week low of $2.42 and a fifty-two week high of $3.91.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 11.45%. On average, research analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $0.1035 dividend. This represents a yield of 4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYG. Crux Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Brentview Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.