Short Interest in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Expands By 56.9%

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 24,690,000 shares, an increase of 56.9% from the February 13th total of 15,740,000 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 23,320,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LYG. Crux Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Brentview Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Shares of LYG traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $3.69. The stock had a trading volume of 14,824,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,637,360. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12 month low of $2.42 and a 12 month high of $3.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.97 billion, a PE ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $3.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.00.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.03). The company 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, analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.1035 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a yield of 4%. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is 60.61%.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

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.