Van Diest Capital LLC Acquires 99,659 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG

Van Diest Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) by 372.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 126,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 99,659 shares during the quarter. Van Diest Capital LLC’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management inc. increased its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management inc. now owns 104,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 18,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 20.8% during the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 12,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance LLC raised its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 20,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 2,146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LYG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. 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. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE LYG opened at $6.03 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $5.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $87.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.87. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a one year low of $4.05 and a one year high of $6.34.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 25.11% and a return on equity of 10.63%. Research analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Lloyds Banking Group

Lloyds Banking Group plc is a UK-based banking and financial services company that provides a broad range of retail, commercial and insurance products. Its principal consumer-facing brands include Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, through which it offers current accounts, savings, mortgages, credit cards and personal loans. The group also delivers services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and larger corporate clients, supplying business accounts, lending, payments and cash-management solutions.

In addition to core banking, Lloyds operates a significant wealth and insurance arm under the Scottish Widows brand, offering life insurance, pensions, investment and retirement planning products.