Analysts Set Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY) Target Price at GBX 62.40

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Hold" from the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is GBX 62.40 ($0.83).

Several research firms have weighed in on LLOY. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 61 ($0.81) to GBX 71 ($0.94) and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Shore Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 62 ($0.82) to GBX 71 ($0.94) and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

LON LLOY traded down GBX 0.42 ($0.01) during trading on Friday, reaching GBX 70.38 ($0.93). 754,399,250 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 185,765,641. The business has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 68.54 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 60.89. The stock has a market capitalization of £42.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.90, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.23. Lloyds Banking Group has a fifty-two week low of GBX 49.61 ($0.66) and a fifty-two week high of GBX 74.46 ($0.99).

Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 11.22% and a net margin of 16.66%. On average, analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 7.3199528 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lloyds Banking Group news, insider William Chalmers sold 11,338 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 70 ($0.93), for a total transaction of £7,936.60 ($10,503.71). 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.