Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG Stock Position Raised by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 339,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 98,650 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $1,540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Beck Bode LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the second quarter worth $5,254,000. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,689,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 6,816,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,969,000 after purchasing an additional 612,523 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 430.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 479,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,039,000 after buying an additional 389,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 311.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 227,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after buying an additional 172,422 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of LYG opened at $5.76 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.79 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a one year low of $3.27 and a one year high of $6.34. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $5.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.96.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.52 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 10.06%. As a group, analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.134 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 447.0%. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is 30.95%.

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.