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

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $2.75.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LYG. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Lloyds Banking Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 119.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 125,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 68,064 shares during the period. Aegis Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $269,000. Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 181,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 47,752 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 95,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 4,585 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 225.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 7,098,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,309,000 after buying an additional 4,914,680 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group stock opened at $3.83 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.07. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12-month low of $2.42 and a 12-month high of $3.91. The stock has a market cap of $58.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $0.1035 dividend. This represents a yield of 4%. This is a positive change from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.