Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 20,865,773 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 119% from the previous session’s volume of 9,523,434 shares.The stock last traded at $5.7050 and had previously closed at $5.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on LYG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen cut Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 2.1%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.87. The firm has a market cap of $84.79 billion, a PE ratio of 13.68, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.87.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.52 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 10.06%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Beck Bode LLC purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the second quarter worth approximately $5,254,000. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the second quarter valued at about $1,689,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 6,816,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,969,000 after purchasing an additional 612,523 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 430.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 479,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,039,000 after buying an additional 389,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 311.6% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 227,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 172,422 shares during the period. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

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.