Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company.

LYG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, April 30th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management inc. lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management inc. now owns 104,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 18,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 2,009 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 2,040 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 47.3% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 2,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 12,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Shares of LYG stock opened at $5.51 on Thursday. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12-month low of $3.98 and a 12-month high of $6.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $5.29 and a 200-day moving average of $5.33.

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

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.