Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) Cut to Sector perform at Royal Bank Of Canada

Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) was downgraded by Royal Bank Of Canada to a “sector perform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Digital Look reports. They presently have a GBX 115 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their prior price target of GBX 124. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price indicates a potential upside of 9.89% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on LLOY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 121 to GBX 123 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 125 price target on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 125 to GBX 127 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Berenberg Bank restated a “hold” rating and set a GBX 117 price objective on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of GBX 116.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of LLOY traded down GBX 1.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting GBX 104.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,147,000,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 180,847,125. Lloyds Banking Group has a one year low of GBX 81.82 and a one year high of GBX 123.10. The firm has a market capitalization of £60.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average is GBX 109.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 106.09.

Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported GBX 4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 26.73% and a return on equity of 11.05%. Analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Catherine Woods purchased 1,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 110 per share, with a total value of £1,991. Also, insider William Chalmers sold 8,445,139 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 112, for a total value of £9,458,555.68. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

About Lloyds Banking Group

We are the largest UK retail and commercial financial services provider with over 25 million customers and a presence in nearly every community.

The Group’s main business activities are retail and commercial banking, general insurance and long-term savings, provided through the largest branch network and digital bank in the UK, with well recognised brands including Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows.

Our shares are quoted on the London and New York stock exchanges and we are one of the largest companies in the FTSE 100 index.