Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Bank of America raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen cut Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 27th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, July 16th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the first quarter worth about $128,228,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,564,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,250,000 after purchasing an additional 351,626 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,005,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,669,000 after buying an additional 222,310 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,849,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,365,000 after buying an additional 433,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,055,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,193,000 after buying an additional 196,875 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of LYG stock opened at $5.57 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $80.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.52. Lloyds Banking Group has a one year low of $4.42 and a one year high of $6.34. The company’s 50-day moving average is $5.95 and its 200 day moving average is $5.66.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.86 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 24.97%. Sell-side analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.0840 dividend. This is a drop from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous dividend of $0.1340. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 273.0%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.21%.

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.