Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) Reaches New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as GBX 193 ($2.50) and last traded at GBX 73.27 ($0.95), with a volume of 242791766 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 73.36 ($0.95).

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LLOY shares. Shore Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 62 ($0.80) to GBX 71 ($0.92) and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 61 ($0.79) to GBX 71 ($0.92) and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of GBX 62.40 ($0.81).

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

The company's fifty day moving average is GBX 66.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 59.94. The company has a market cap of £43.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.23.

Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported GBX 6.30 ($0.08) earnings per share for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 16.66% and a return on equity of 11.22%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 7.3199528 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a GBX 2.11 ($0.03) dividend. This represents a yield of 3.01%. This is a boost from Lloyds Banking Group's previous dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Lloyds Banking Group's payout ratio is presently 37.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider William Chalmers sold 11,338 shares of Lloyds Banking Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 70 ($0.91), for a total transaction of £7,936.60 ($10,261.96). Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

About Lloyds Banking Group

We are the largest UK retail and commercial financial services provider with over 25 million customers and a presence in nearly every community. The Group's main business activities are retail and commercial banking, general insurance and long-term savings, provided through the largest branch network and digital bank in the UK, with well recognised brands including Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows. Our shares are quoted on the London and New York stock exchanges and we are one of the largest companies in the FTSE 100 index.