Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $2.75.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. HSBC upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Lloyds Banking Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LYG. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 225.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 7,098,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,309,000 after buying an additional 4,914,680 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at $11,226,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,604,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,444,000 after purchasing an additional 4,021,039 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 26,669,053 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,540,000 after purchasing an additional 2,713,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 58.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,659,629 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,778,000 after buying an additional 2,456,914 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company's stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 3.9 %

LYG opened at $3.87 on Wednesday. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12 month low of $2.50 and a 12 month high of $3.93. The company has a market cap of $58.71 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $3.63 and a 200 day moving average of $3.13.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.03). Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 11.45%. The firm had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.76 billion. Research analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

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

About Lloyds Banking Group

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.

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