Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) Short Interest Up 27.6% in January

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) saw a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 7,488,333 shares, an increase of 27.6% from the January 15th total of 5,869,436 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,959,799 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.8 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,959,799 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LYG. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 151,258,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $801,673,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300,718 shares during the period. L1 Capital Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $548,574,000. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $285,004,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 4.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake 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 worth $64,828,000 after purchasing an additional 541,501 shares during the period. 2.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LYG has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut Lloyds Banking Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

LYG stock opened at $5.70 on Wednesday. Lloyds Banking Group has a one year low of $3.13 and a one year high of $6.34. The firm has a market cap of $83.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.57, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $5.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.93.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.01. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.06% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.52 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $0.134 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a yield of 447.0%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.95%.

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.