Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $5.12 and last traded at $5.1050, with a volume of 380246 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $4.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LYG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Lloyds Banking Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen cut Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 2.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $75.49 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4.63 and a 200 day moving average of $4.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $6.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 18.04% and a return on equity of 8.38%. Equities research analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 0.8% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 149,958,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $680,811,000 after buying an additional 1,129,641 shares during the last quarter. L1 Capital Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the second quarter worth about $548,574,000. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the third quarter worth about $285,004,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 6.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 24,154,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,269,000 after buying an additional 1,397,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,279,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,828,000 after purchasing an additional 541,501 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

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.