Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company.

LYG has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LYG opened at $5.55 on Monday. Lloyds Banking Group has a twelve month low of $3.98 and a twelve month high of $6.34. The firm has a market cap of $81.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56. The business has a fifty day moving average of $5.40 and a 200-day moving average of $5.40.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,300,718 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 1st quarter worth about $128,228,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 14,802,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,456,000 after buying an additional 673,473 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position 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 buying an additional 541,501 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $63,928,000. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.