Advisors Preferred LLC Makes New $1.39 Million Investment in Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG

Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 306,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,386,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2,671.6% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 5,959 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 5,744 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 115.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 6,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 3,261 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 3,203 shares during the period. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 124.9% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 7,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on LYG shares. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. BNP Paribas Exane cut Lloyds Banking Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Shares of LYG opened at $5.76 on Friday. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a 1-year low of $3.27 and a 1-year high of $6.34. The company has a market capitalization of $84.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.96.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.01. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.06% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.52 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $0.134 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a yield of 447.0%. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is presently 30.95%.

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.