Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 12,612,163 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the previous session’s volume of 19,782,174 shares.The stock last traded at $5.2250 and had previously closed at $5.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LYG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $77.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $5.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.37.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 25.11%.The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LYG. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 10.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,126,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,305,000 after acquiring an additional 108,100 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 124.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 263,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after acquiring an additional 145,772 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 18.4% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 812,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,103,000 after acquiring an additional 126,247 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 162.2% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 7,253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the first quarter valued at about $639,000. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

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.