Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Upgraded by Citigroup to Buy Rating

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) was upgraded by investment analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

LYG has been the topic of a number of other reports. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

NYSE LYG traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $5.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,762,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,893,408. The stock has a market cap of $82.88 billion, a PE ratio of 13.39, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.89. Lloyds Banking Group has a fifty-two week low of $3.49 and a fifty-two week high of $6.34. The company’s 50-day moving average is $5.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.52 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 10.06%. Analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the third quarter worth $285,004,000. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,386,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 0.8% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 149,958,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $680,811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129,641 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 4.4% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,079,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,062,000 after acquiring an additional 211,920 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 311.6% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 227,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 172,422 shares during the period. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

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.