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

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $5.23 and last traded at $5.2250, with a volume of 513191 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $5.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LYG shares. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Zacks Research cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed 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 research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average is $4.83 and its 200 day moving average is $4.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $77.35 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.90.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced 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). Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 18.04% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $6.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 7.7% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 2,040 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 14.7% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 17,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 15,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 2,309 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 2,351 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 15,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 2,380 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

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.