Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company.

LYG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, July 16th.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

NYSE LYG opened at $6.00 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $6.05 and its 200 day moving average is $5.62. Lloyds Banking Group has a fifty-two week low of $4.36 and a fifty-two week high of $6.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.52. The company has a market capitalization of $86.92 billion, a PE ratio of 13.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.87.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $6.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.86 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 66.0% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 394,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after acquiring an additional 156,739 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $82,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 33,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 67.4% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 642,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,748,000 after buying an additional 258,941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 19.4% in the second quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 14,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 2,410 shares in the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

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.