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

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company.

LYG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. 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, UBS Group raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of LYG stock opened at $5.29 on Friday. Lloyds Banking Group has a 1 year low of $3.81 and a 1 year high of $6.34. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 25.11% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 151,258,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $801,673,000 after buying an additional 1,300,718 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $285,004,000. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter valued at $128,228,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 14,802,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,456,000 after buying an additional 673,473 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,279,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,828,000 after buying an additional 541,501 shares during the period. 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.