Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 60.33 ($0.77) and traded as high as GBX 71.42 ($0.91). Lloyds Banking Group shares last traded at GBX 69.70 ($0.89), with a volume of 165,195,781 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Shore Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 62 ($0.79) to GBX 71 ($0.91) and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 61 ($0.78) to GBX 71 ($0.91) and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of GBX 62.40 ($0.80).

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

The company's 50 day moving average price is GBX 67.97 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 60.55. The company has a market cap of £40.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.49, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of GBX 2.11 ($0.03) per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Lloyds Banking Group's previous dividend of $1.06. This represents a dividend yield of 3.01%. Lloyds Banking Group's payout ratio is 37.95%.

Insider Activity at Lloyds Banking Group

In other news, insider William Chalmers sold 11,338 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 70 ($0.89), for a total transaction of £7,936.60 ($10,141.32). 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.