Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) Stock Short Interest Climbs 81.6%

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 16,730,546 shares, an increase of 81.6% from the September 15th total of 9,213,756 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 15,511,175 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LYG shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 27th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $128,228,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,564,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,250,000 after acquiring an additional 351,626 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,005,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,669,000 after acquiring an additional 222,310 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,849,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,365,000 after acquiring an additional 433,849 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 2,413.7% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,113,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,661,000 after acquiring an additional 2,989,604 shares during the period. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $5.49. 20,508,378 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,815,457. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $5.85 and its 200 day moving average is $5.69. The stock has a market cap of $79.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.52. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12 month low of $4.44 and a 12 month high of $6.34.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.86 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 24.97%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.0840 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 273.0%. This is a drop from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous dividend of $0.1340. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.21%.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

Lloyds Banking Group plc is a United Kingdom-based financial services company headquartered in London. Its principal businesses include retail banking, commercial banking, insurance, pensions and long-term savings. The group serves individuals, small and medium-sized businesses, commercial clients and institutional customers primarily across the United Kingdom.

The group operates through well-known brands including Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows. Its products and services include current and savings accounts, mortgages, credit cards, personal loans, business banking, corporate lending, investment products, insurance and retirement planning.