Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) Short Interest Update

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 9,213,756 shares, an increase of 120.6% from the August 31st total of 4,176,386 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 14,519,336 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.6 days.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 0.4%

Lloyds Banking Group stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $5.70. The stock had a trading volume of 16,885,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,819,369. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $6.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.65. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12 month low of $4.42 and a 12 month high of $6.34. The stock has a market cap of $82.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.87. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.86 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 24.97%. Research analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a $0.0840 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 273.0%. This is a drop from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous dividend of $0.1340. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is 39.53%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,005,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,669,000 after buying an additional 222,310 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 67.4% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 642,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,748,000 after acquiring an additional 258,941 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2.9% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,564,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,250,000 after acquiring an additional 351,626 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the first quarter worth about $128,228,000. Finally, NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $8,072,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LYG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Bank of America raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

About Lloyds Banking Group

Lloyds Banking Group plc is a United Kingdom-based financial services company headquartered in London. Its principal businesses include retail banking, commercial banking, insurance, pensions and long-term savings. The group serves individuals, small and medium-sized businesses, commercial clients and institutional customers primarily across the United Kingdom.

The group operates through well-known brands including Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows. Its products and services include current and savings accounts, mortgages, credit cards, personal loans, business banking, corporate lending, investment products, insurance and retirement planning.