Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on LYG. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, September 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Lloyds Banking Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 1.9%

Lloyds Banking Group stock opened at $4.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $65.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.05. Lloyds Banking Group has a 1 year low of $2.56 and a 1 year high of $4.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $4.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.86 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 17.51%. On average, research analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were given a dividend of $0.0655 per share. This represents a yield of 370.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is presently 32.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 60,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 3,342 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 34.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 172,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $717,000 after acquiring an additional 44,047 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $72,000. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $236,000. Finally, L1 Capital Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $548,574,000. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.