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

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYGGet Free Report) 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.

Read Our Latest Analysis on LYG

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:LYGGet Free Report) 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

(Get Free Report)

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.

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