Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is GBX 104.33.

A number of research analysts have commented on LLOY shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 100 to GBX 120 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 100 to GBX 110 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 102 to GBX 117 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a GBX 103 target price on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a GBX 105 target price on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Tuesday, October 28th.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of LLOY opened at GBX 101.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of £59.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.23. Lloyds Banking Group has a 52 week low of GBX 60.30 and a 52 week high of GBX 103.55. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is GBX 96.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 87.80.

Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The financial services provider reported GBX 6.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 11.22% and a net margin of 16.66%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 7.3199528 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Lloyds Banking Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets: Deutsche Bank raised its target from GBX 100 to GBX 110 and maintained a “buy” rating, while JPMorgan raised its target to GBX 117 — signals that brokers expect stronger upside. Deutsche Bank upgrade JPMorgan target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Group set to report a rise in annual profits despite a hit from the motor-finance arm — suggests core retail and margins are strong enough to offset that business-line weakness. Profit outlook article
• Positive Sentiment: Funding / balance-sheet management: Lloyds will call and redeem €500m of senior floating-rate notes one year early — reduces near-term interest exposure and signals excess liquidity or proactive liability management. Debt redemption announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic tech investment: Lloyds is scaling up AI targets and planning broad workforce AI training — potential medium-term efficiency gains, but benefits are incremental and execution-dependent. AI training article
• Neutral Sentiment: Broker maintains neutrality: UBS reaffirmed a “neutral” rating with a GBX 103 target — shows mixed analyst views despite some upgrades. UBS rating
• Negative Sentiment: Motor-finance pressure: the motor-finance business is a visible drag and could weigh on near-term profits / credit costs if conditions worsen — a risk to watch in the upcoming results. Motor finance headwind
• Negative Sentiment: Branch closures: Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland plan to close 71 UK branches in 2026 — reduces costs but may hurt customer access/reputation in local markets. Branch closures list

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

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.