Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company.

LYG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, April 30th.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management inc. now owns 104,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 18,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 7.7% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 47.3% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,051 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 20.8% in the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 12,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:LYG opened at $5.35 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $5.33 and its 200 day moving average is $5.35. Lloyds Banking Group has a 1 year low of $3.98 and a 1 year high of $6.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 25.11%. On average, research analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.