Short Interest in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Increases By 22.5%

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,280,000 shares, a growth of 22.5% from the January 15th total of 8,390,000 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 12,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,226,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,604,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,444,000 after purchasing an additional 4,021,039 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 26,669,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,540,000 after purchasing an additional 2,713,559 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 14.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,280,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,154,000 after purchasing an additional 2,472,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 58.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,659,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,778,000 after buying an additional 2,456,914 shares during the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:LYG opened at $3.22 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $48.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.24 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $2.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.92. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12-month low of $2.04 and a 12-month high of $3.24.

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.