Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. HSBC raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 1.1%

Lloyds Banking Group stock opened at $4.17 on Thursday. Lloyds Banking Group has a twelve month low of $2.56 and a twelve month high of $4.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $62.73 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $4.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.46.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.03. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 14.39%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.78 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 20.4% during the first quarter. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 2,573 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 61,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 2,617 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 27.2% in the 1st quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 12,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 15,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 2,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crumly & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 36,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,884 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.