Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Research Coverage Started at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

LYG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a neutral rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Kepler Capital Markets began coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut Lloyds Banking Group from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

NYSE:LYG traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $3.09. The stock had a trading volume of 10,367,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,655,399. Lloyds Banking Group has a twelve month low of $1.88 and a twelve month high of $3.18. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 12.40%. The business had revenue of $9.55 billion during the quarter. On average, analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.0546 per share. This is a boost from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,060,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,517,000 after buying an additional 343,753 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the second quarter valued at about $36,252,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 166.2% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 47,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 29,486 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 37.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 71,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 19,525 shares during the period. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 71.5% in the first quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 19,857 shares in the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Lloyds Banking Group

Lloyds Banking Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of banking and financial services in the United Kingdom and internationally. It operates in three segments: Retail; Commercial Banking; and Insurance, Pensions and Investments. The Retail segment offers a range of financial service products, including current accounts, savings, mortgages, motor finance, unsecured loans, leasing solutions, and credit cards to personal customers.