Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as GBX 63.90 ($0.80) and last traded at GBX 63.64 ($0.79), with a volume of 204042109 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 62.80 ($0.78).

Analyst Ratings Changes

LLOY has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a GBX 60 ($0.75) price target on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Shore Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of GBX 56.60 ($0.70).

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 56.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 57.34. The stock has a market cap of £38.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 904.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lloyds Banking Group

In other Lloyds Banking Group news, insider William Chalmers purchased 128,804 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 54 ($0.67) per share, for a total transaction of £69,554.16 ($86,574.76). Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

We are the largest UK retail and commercial financial services provider with over 25 million customers and a presence in nearly every community.

The Group’s main business activities are retail and commercial banking, general insurance and long-term savings, provided through the largest branch network and digital bank in the UK, with well recognised brands including Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows.

Our shares are quoted on the London and New York stock exchanges and we are one of the largest companies in the FTSE 100 index.