Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Raised to Buy at Bank of America

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) was upgraded by equities researchers at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Briefing.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Berenberg Bank began coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

LYG stock opened at $5.87 on Tuesday. Lloyds Banking Group has a one year low of $4.20 and a one year high of $6.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $6.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.33 billion, a PE ratio of 13.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.01). Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 24.97%.The firm had revenue of $6.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.86 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tucker Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 131.2% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 5,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 2,915 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 47.3% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 2,051 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 1,216.6% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 8,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 7,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 162.2% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 7,253 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

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.