Morgan Stanley Upgrades Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) to "Overweight"

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 0.1 %

Lloyds Banking Group stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $3.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 34,047,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,155,045. The company has a market cap of $57.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.98. Lloyds Banking Group has a fifty-two week low of $2.42 and a fifty-two week high of $3.91.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.03). The business 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Remove Ads

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $0.1035 dividend. This is a boost from Lloyds Banking Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. Lloyds Banking Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

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