Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 81.6% in September

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 16,730,546 shares, an increase of 81.6% from the September 15th total of 9,213,756 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 15,511,175 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on LYG. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 27th. Weiss Ratings raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.00.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 0.4%

LYG traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $5.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 20,508,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,281,488. Lloyds Banking Group has a twelve month low of $4.44 and a twelve month high of $6.34. The stock has a market cap of $79.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $5.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $6.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.86 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 24.97%. On average, analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.0840 per share. This represents a yield of 273.0%. This is a drop from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous dividend of $0.1340. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.53%.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 1st quarter worth about $128,228,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 2,413.7% in the first 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 period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 386.4% in the first 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 period. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $8,072,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 12.7% during the first 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 last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lloyds Banking Group

Lloyds Banking Group plc is a United Kingdom-based financial services company headquartered in London. Its principal businesses include retail banking, commercial banking, insurance, pensions and long-term savings. The group serves individuals, small and medium-sized businesses, commercial clients and institutional customers primarily across the United Kingdom.

The group operates through well-known brands including Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows. Its products and services include current and savings accounts, mortgages, credit cards, personal loans, business banking, corporate lending, investment products, insurance and retirement planning.