Equitable Trust Co. Takes Position in Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG

Equitable Trust Co. bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 378,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,906,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,126,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,305,000 after acquiring an additional 108,100 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 124.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 263,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 145,772 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 18.4% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 812,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,103,000 after purchasing an additional 126,247 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 162.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 7,253 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the first quarter worth approximately $639,000. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LYG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. UBS Group raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 0.4%

LYG stock opened at $5.99 on Friday. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a fifty-two week low of $4.05 and a fifty-two week high of $6.34. The company has a market capitalization of $87.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $5.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.13 EPS 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. As a group, analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.