Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE LYG opened at $5.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $75.36 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. Lloyds Banking Group has a 52-week low of $3.27 and a 52-week high of $6.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $5.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.06.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.12 EPS 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 company had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.52 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.134 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a yield of 447.0%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LYG. World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 34,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,974 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at $78,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at $93,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth $281,000. Finally, Van Diest Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter worth $142,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.