Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as GBX 85.63 ($1.15) and last traded at GBX 85.63 ($1.15), with a volume of 110595734 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 84.34 ($1.13).

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LLOY shares. Shore Capital restated a “hold” rating and set a GBX 74 price objective on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 92 to GBX 103 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 75 to GBX 77 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 85 to GBX 98 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Lloyds Banking Group to an “outperform” rating and set a GBX 95 target price for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of GBX 89.40.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 2.4%

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 82.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of GBX 76.93. The stock has a market cap of £50.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,293.03, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.23.

Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported GBX 3.80 EPS for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 11.22% and a net margin of 16.66%. Equities analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 7.3199528 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lloyds Banking Group

In other news, insider William Chalmers acquired 138,723 shares of Lloyds Banking Group stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 84 per share, with a total value of £116,527.32. Also, insider Charlie Nunn bought 217,494 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 84 per share, for a total transaction of £182,694.96. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 436,717 shares of company stock valued at $36,562,228. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

We are the largest UK retail and commercial financial services provider with over 25 million customers and a presence in nearly every community.

The Group’s main business activities are retail and commercial banking, general insurance and long-term savings, provided through the largest branch network and digital bank in the UK, with well recognised brands including Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows.

Our shares are quoted on the London and New York stock exchanges and we are one of the largest companies in the FTSE 100 index.