Two Sigma Securities LLC Makes New Investment in Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG

Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 144,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $843,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 151,258,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $801,673,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300,718 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 1st quarter valued at $128,228,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 14,802,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,456,000 after purchasing an additional 673,473 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 3.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,279,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,828,000 after buying an additional 541,501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 17.4% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 8,815,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,023,000 after buying an additional 1,309,359 shares during the period. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 0.9%

LYG opened at $5.92 on Wednesday. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a 12 month low of $4.20 and a 12 month high of $6.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $6.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.60. The company has a market cap of $86.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.87.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.86 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 24.97%. On average, equities analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.084 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 273.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is 37.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Berenberg Bank began coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.