Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Downgrades Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) to Hold

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) was downgraded by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on LYG. Weiss Ratings cut Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE LYG opened at $5.97 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.87. Lloyds Banking Group has a 52 week low of $4.05 and a 52 week high of $6.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $5.59 and a 200-day moving average of $5.50.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 25.11%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYG. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,416,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,106,000 after buying an additional 660,256 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,134,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,690,000 after buying an additional 622,061 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,906,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,846,000. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 81.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 139,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $595,000 after acquiring an additional 62,742 shares during the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.