Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) Cut to “Sell” at Shore Capital

Shore Capital lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) to a sell rating in a report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has GBX 91 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of GBX 84.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on LLOY. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 105 target price on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a GBX 93 price target on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 100 to GBX 120 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup upped their target price on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 84 to GBX 97 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 102 to GBX 117 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of GBX 107.78.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group stock opened at GBX 114.20 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 99.74 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 89.56. The firm has a market capitalization of £67.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.23. Lloyds Banking Group has a 52 week low of GBX 60.78 and a 52 week high of GBX 114.40.

Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported GBX 7 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 16.66% and a return on equity of 11.22%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group will post 7.3199528 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting Lloyds Banking Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Lloyds Banking Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lloyds is shifting strategy to grow its corporate and institutional banking units and expand its US presence — a move aimed at diversifying away from UK retail margins and lifting fee income and returns. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple outlets report the same strategic push (management signalling a deliberate expansion into higher-margin corporate and US markets), which could increase investor confidence in longer-term revenue growth and ROE. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Lloyds has continued executing its buyback programme, repurchasing and cancelling nearly 3 million shares — a direct boost to EPS and a signal of capital return discipline. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are raising targets and upgrading coverage: Citi raised its Lloyds price target to GBX 106, and other notes point to higher targets/positive momentum — supporting the recent rally. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: The US depositary receipt (LYG) had its price target increased, reflecting improved US investor views on Lloyds’ outlook. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Deutsche Bank lowered its price target to GBX 125 but retained a “buy” rating — a mixed signal (smaller upside implied but continued endorsement). Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Shore Capital downgraded Lloyds to “sell” after the stock’s strong run, which could add selling pressure from some investors and temper momentum. Read More.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

We are the largest UK retail and commercial financial services provider with over 25 million customers and a presence in nearly every community.

The Group’s main business activities are retail and commercial banking, general insurance and long-term savings, provided through the largest branch network and digital bank in the UK, with well recognised brands including Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows.

Our shares are quoted on the London and New York stock exchanges and we are one of the largest companies in the FTSE 100 index.