Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG)

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors acquired 10,000 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 927% compared to the typical volume of 974 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LYG. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 131.2% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 5,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 2,915 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 47.3% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 2,051 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 1,216.6% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 8,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 7,543 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LYG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Lloyds Banking Group from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 0.7%

LYG stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $6.30. 2,020,100 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,157,877. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.62, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.87. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12-month low of $4.20 and a 12-month high of $6.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.86 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 24.97%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.084 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a yield of 272.0%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.21%.

About Lloyds Banking Group

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.