Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Cut to Hold at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) from a moderate buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday morning,Zacks.com reports.

LYG has been the topic of several other reports. 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. Weiss Ratings downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Berenberg Bank assumed coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

NYSE LYG opened at $5.97 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $5.59 and its 200-day moving average is $5.50. 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 company has a market capitalization of $87.04 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.87. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12-month low of $4.05 and a 12-month high of $6.34.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter. The business 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 151,258,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $801,673,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300,718 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $128,228,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 673,473 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,279,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,828,000 after acquiring an additional 541,501 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 8,815,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309,359 shares during the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.