Analysts Set Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Price Target at $2.75

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $2.75.

Separately, Morgan Stanley upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LYG. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 225.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 7,098,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,309,000 after purchasing an additional 4,914,680 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $11,226,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 34.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,604,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,444,000 after buying an additional 4,021,039 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 26,669,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,540,000 after buying an additional 2,713,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,280,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,154,000 after buying an additional 2,472,263 shares in the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group stock opened at $3.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.99. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12 month low of $2.42 and a 12 month high of $3.91.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.76 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 8.46%. Analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.1035 per share. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is currently 60.61%.

About Lloyds Banking Group

Lloyds Banking Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of banking and financial services in the United Kingdom and internationally. It operates in three segments: Retail; Commercial Banking; and Insurance, Pensions and Investments. The Retail segment offers a range of financial service products, including current accounts, savings, mortgages, motor finance, unsecured loans, leasing solutions, and credit cards to personal customers.