Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $2.75.

Several equities research analysts have commented on LYG shares. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Citigroup cut Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Kepler Capital Markets began coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 39.2% in the first quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 89,948,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $232,967,000 after acquiring an additional 25,351,270 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 22,166,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,978,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180,775 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the 2nd quarter worth $36,252,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 49.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,577,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,415,000 after buying an additional 2,841,956 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,472,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,939,000 after purchasing an additional 804,035 shares during the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Lloyds Banking Group stock opened at $3.19 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.48. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12 month low of $1.88 and a 12 month high of $3.22. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $3.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.88. The company has a market cap of $49.78 billion, a PE ratio of 8.38 and a beta of 1.34.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 12.40%. The business had revenue of $9.55 billion for the quarter. Research analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a $0.0546 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a yield of 4.4%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is 26.32%.

About Lloyds Banking Group

Lloyds Banking Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of banking and financial services in the United Kingdom and internationally. It operates in three segments: Retail; Commercial Banking; and Insurance, Pensions and Investments. The Retail segment offers a range of financial service products, including current accounts, savings, mortgages, motor finance, unsecured loans, leasing solutions, and credit cards to personal customers.