Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday.

LYG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. HSBC upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

NYSE:LYG opened at $4.22 on Friday. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12 month low of $2.56 and a 12 month high of $4.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $4.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market cap of $63.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.99.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.04. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 17.51%. The company had revenue of $6.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.86 billion. On average, analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a $0.0655 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. This represents a yield of 3.7%. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is 55.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Riversedge Advisors LLC grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 10.5% in the second quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 25,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 2,433 shares during the period. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 20.4% in the first quarter. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 2,573 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 4.5% during the first quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 61,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 2,617 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 27.2% during the first quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 12,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 22.1% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 15,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 2,784 shares in the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

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.