PDS Planning Inc Buys 9,390 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

PDS Planning Inc grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 38.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,390 shares during the quarter. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $81,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LYG. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Riversedge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Sterling Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, PFG Advisors bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Bank of America raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.17.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Lloyds Banking Group stock opened at $2.56 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market cap of $40.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.39, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.32. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a fifty-two week low of $1.88 and a fifty-two week high of $2.72.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 11.29% and a net margin of 17.97%. The business had revenue of $19.05 billion for the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.046 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 5.9%. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is 45.00%.

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.