Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is GBX 56.33 ($0.74).

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LLOY. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Monday, September 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 50 ($0.65) to GBX 54 ($0.71) and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Shore Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a GBX 55 ($0.72) target price on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Wednesday, August 21st.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of LLOY opened at GBX 56.93 ($0.74) on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of £35.06 billion, a PE ratio of 811.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of GBX 58.12 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 54.53. Lloyds Banking Group has a 52-week low of GBX 39.42 ($0.52) and a 52-week high of GBX 61.72 ($0.81).

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a dividend of GBX 1.06 ($0.01) per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.78%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4,285.71%.

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.