Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company.

LYG has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of LYG opened at $6.04 on Friday. Lloyds Banking Group has a 1 year low of $4.05 and a 1 year high of $6.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $5.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.50. The firm has a market cap of $88.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.72, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.87.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,126,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,305,000 after buying an additional 108,100 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 18.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 162.2% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 7,253 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $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.