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

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $2.75.

Separately, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 122,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 3,346 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 75,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,420 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 38,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 3,451 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 109,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 3,728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brio Consultants LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Brio Consultants LLC now owns 16,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 3,880 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 3.8 %

LYG opened at $3.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $55.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 1.25. Lloyds Banking Group has a twelve month low of $2.42 and a twelve month high of $3.91. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $3.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.99.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.76 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 8.46%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.1035 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. This is a positive change from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.61%.

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.