Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) – What Are Analysts Saying About This Stock?

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $6.00.

LYG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday, July 16th.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LYG opened at $5.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.99 billion, a PE ratio of 9.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.52. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $5.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.63. Lloyds Banking Group has a 1 year low of $4.51 and a 1 year high of $6.34.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $7.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.06 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 12.56% and a net margin of 28.13%. On average, research analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the first quarter worth $128,228,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2,413.7% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,113,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,661,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989,604 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 386.4% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,528,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,717,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008,380 shares during the last quarter. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 2nd quarter worth $8,072,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,849,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,365,000 after purchasing an additional 433,849 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

Lloyds Banking Group plc is a UK-based financial services group whose American depositary shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LYG. The group provides banking, lending, insurance, pensions and investment services to individuals, businesses and institutional customers.

Its principal brands include Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows. Products and services include current and savings accounts, residential mortgages, personal and business loans, credit cards, commercial banking, asset finance, life insurance, pensions and investment solutions.

Lloyds Banking Group was formed in 2009 through the acquisition of HBOS by Lloyds TSB.