Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Upgraded at HSBC

HSBC upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

Several other analysts have also commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Lloyds Banking Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 6.1 %

Shares of LYG stock traded down $0.23 on Tuesday, reaching $3.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,997,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,892,189. Lloyds Banking Group has a 1 year low of $2.42 and a 1 year high of $3.91. The company has a market capitalization of $52.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 1.25. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $3.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.08.

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Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.46 billion during 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%. Equities research analysts forecast 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 given a dividend of $0.1035 per share. 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. This represents a yield of 4%. Lloyds Banking Group's payout ratio is 60.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crux Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Brentview Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

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.