Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) Short Interest Up 234.9% in February

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 25,077,095 shares, a growth of 234.9% from the January 29th total of 7,488,333 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 30,121,420 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.8 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 30,121,420 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Monday, November 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Monday, December 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 0.8%

LYG stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Thursday, reaching $5.74. 4,753,332 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,409,303. Lloyds Banking Group has a twelve month low of $3.27 and a twelve month high of $6.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $5.60 and its 200 day moving average is $4.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market cap of $84.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.87.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 10.06%. The business had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.52 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.134 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 447.0%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $281,000. Van Diest Capital LLC bought a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $142,000. Compound Planning Inc. grew its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 498,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,643,000 after buying an additional 128,289 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 283,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,501,000 after purchasing an additional 38,289 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 72.9% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 306,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,621,000 after buying an additional 129,207 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

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.