Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 65,225 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) by 10.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 691,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,225 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $2,642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crux Wealth Advisors bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Advisor Resource Council purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Moody National Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter worth $44,000. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. HSBC raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of LYG stock opened at $4.17 on Friday. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a 12 month low of $2.56 and a 12 month high of $4.30. The stock has a market cap of $62.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.03. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.78 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

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.