Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) Reaches New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as GBX 64.84 ($0.82) and last traded at GBX 64.70 ($0.82), with a volume of 838876688 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 62.84 ($0.79).

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LLOY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Shore Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a GBX 60 ($0.76) price target on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of GBX 56 ($0.71).

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 1.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of £40.38 billion, a PE ratio of 8.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 58.40 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 57.51.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lloyds Banking Group news, insider William Chalmers acquired 128,804 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 54 ($0.68) per share, with a total value of £69,554.16 ($87,876.39). 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

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.