Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $5.35 and traded as high as $5.47. Lloyds Banking Group shares last traded at $5.4550, with a volume of 16,261,260 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LYG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 2.3%

The company has a market cap of $77.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The business has a fifty day moving average of $5.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.35.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 25.11%.The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LYG. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 10.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,126,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,305,000 after acquiring an additional 108,100 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 124.1% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 263,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after acquiring an additional 145,772 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 18.4% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 812,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,103,000 after acquiring an additional 126,247 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 162.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 7,253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $639,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

Lloyds Banking Group plc is a UK-based banking and financial services company that provides a broad range of retail, commercial and insurance products. Its principal consumer-facing brands include Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, through which it offers current accounts, savings, mortgages, credit cards and personal loans. The group also delivers services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and larger corporate clients, supplying business accounts, lending, payments and cash-management solutions.

In addition to core banking, Lloyds operates a significant wealth and insurance arm under the Scottish Widows brand, offering life insurance, pensions, investment and retirement planning products.