Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 2,803,823 shares, a growth of 69.0% from the July 30th total of 1,659,386 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 12,929,713 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.2 days. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on LYG shares. Bank of America raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 151,258,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $801,673,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300,718 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $128,228,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 14,802,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,456,000 after acquiring an additional 673,473 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 3.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,279,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,828,000 after purchasing an additional 541,501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 17.4% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 8,815,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,309,359 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $5.92. 9,904,678 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,226,361. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $86.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.77, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.87. Lloyds Banking Group has a 52 week low of $4.20 and a 52 week high of $6.34.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.01). Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 24.97% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The business had revenue of $6.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.86 billion. Research analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a $0.084 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 273.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.