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

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company.

Several brokerages have weighed in on LYG. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated 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 research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Monday, November 24th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. L1 Capital Pty Ltd bought a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $548,574,000. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $285,004,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 12.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 148,828,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $632,522,000 after acquiring an additional 16,705,846 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $63,928,000. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 53.9% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 6,614,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,031,000 after acquiring an additional 2,317,927 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 2.2%

LYG stock opened at $5.03 on Friday. Lloyds Banking Group has a fifty-two week low of $3.27 and a fifty-two week high of $6.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $5.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.05.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.12 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.52 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Announces Dividend

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

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.