Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Short Interest Down 15.9% in March

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,770,000 shares, a decrease of 15.9% from the February 28th total of 24,690,000 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 25,660,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on LYG shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LYG traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $3.84. 21,756,551 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,390,044. Lloyds Banking Group has a 1-year low of $2.42 and a 1-year high of $3.91. The company has a market cap of $58.33 billion, a PE ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $3.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.07.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 11.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.1035 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. This is a boost from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LYG. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 339.7% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 58,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 45,341 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 20.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,055,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,293,000 after purchasing an additional 180,178 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 58.3% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,703,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,316,000 after buying an additional 627,592 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 73.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 687,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,146,000 after buying an additional 290,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 14.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,280,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,154,000 after buying an additional 2,472,263 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

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.