Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Analysts

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LYG shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 27th. Finally, Berenberg Bank assumed coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LYG. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 126,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $738,000 after buying an additional 1,841 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 11.7% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 18,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 1,891 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 5.1% in the second quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 2,031 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 47.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,051 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 12,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares during the period. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

LYG opened at $5.50 on Wednesday. Lloyds Banking Group has a twelve month low of $4.42 and a twelve month high of $6.34. The firm has a market cap of $79.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.66.

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). Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 24.97%.The firm had revenue of $6.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.86 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

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

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.