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

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,416,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,106,000 after purchasing an additional 660,256 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the first quarter worth $128,228,000. Equitable Trust Co. bought a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the first quarter valued at $1,906,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 70.7% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 482,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,425,000 after acquiring an additional 199,701 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,970,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,912,000 after purchasing an additional 172,594 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 0.2%

LYG opened at $6.21 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $5.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.60. Lloyds Banking Group has a twelve month low of $4.20 and a twelve month high of $6.34.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.86 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 24.97% and a return on equity of 10.94%. Equities research analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.084 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a yield of 273.0%. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is currently 37.21%.

About Lloyds Banking Group

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.