Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $2.85, but opened at $2.99. Lloyds Banking Group shares last traded at $2.98, with a volume of 2,516,763 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LYG. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut Lloyds Banking Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $2.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.91. The stock has a market cap of $45.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.71 and a beta of 1.31.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $10.41 billion during the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 9.81% and a net margin of 10.89%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the third quarter worth $46,000. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.