Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company.

LYG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Lloyds Banking Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. HSBC raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group stock opened at $4.00 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.97. Lloyds Banking Group has a one year low of $2.56 and a one year high of $4.01.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.78 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 11.45%. Sell-side analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.1035 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is 57.14%.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Crux Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp bought a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Advisor Resource Council bought a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Rainey & Randall Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. 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.