Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

LYG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Bank of America upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of LYG opened at $5.89 on Friday. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12-month low of $4.36 and a 12-month high of $6.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $6.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.01). Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 24.97%.The firm had revenue of $6.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.86 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a $0.084 dividend. This represents a yield of 273.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is currently 39.53%.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LYG. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 126,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 1,841 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 18,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,891 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 5.1% during the second quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 2,031 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,051 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

About Lloyds Banking Group

Lloyds Banking Group plc is a major United Kingdom financial services provider whose shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LYG. The group serves individuals, families, small businesses and larger commercial customers through a range of banking, lending, insurance, investment and wealth-management services.

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