Short Interest in Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) Declines By 44.7%

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,838,506 shares, a decrease of 44.7% from the May 31st total of 6,943,194 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 31,509,695 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.1 days. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LYG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. UBS Group upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Berenberg Bank assumed coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Tuesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 17.6% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 70,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 10,590 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 156.5% in the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 313,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,579,000 after buying an additional 191,523 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 30.0% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 109,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 25,222 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 12.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,202,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,050,000 after acquiring an additional 128,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 301,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 46,738 shares during the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of LYG opened at $6.07 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $5.44 and a 200-day moving average of $5.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56. Lloyds Banking Group has a 52 week low of $4.05 and a 52 week high of $6.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.87.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 25.11% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Lloyds Banking Group

Lloyds Banking Group plc is a UK-based banking and financial services company that provides a broad range of retail, commercial and insurance products. Its principal consumer-facing brands include Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, through which it offers current accounts, savings, mortgages, credit cards and personal loans. The group also delivers services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and larger corporate clients, supplying business accounts, lending, payments and cash-management solutions.

In addition to core banking, Lloyds operates a significant wealth and insurance arm under the Scottish Widows brand, offering life insurance, pensions, investment and retirement planning products.