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

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $2.75.

Separately, Morgan Stanley upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

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

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Lloyds Banking Group stock opened at $3.67 on Tuesday. Lloyds Banking Group has a one year low of $2.35 and a one year high of $3.81. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.12 and a beta of 1.31.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.1035 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.