Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Upgraded at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on LYG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 2.2%

LYG stock opened at $5.48 on Thursday. Lloyds Banking Group has a 1-year low of $3.50 and a 1-year high of $6.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $5.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.89.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.52 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.134 per share. This represents a yield of 490.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is currently 40.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 5,744 shares in the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 115.2% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 6,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 3,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 100.0% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

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.