Analysts Set Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Target Price at $2.75

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the ten research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $2.75.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LYG. Morgan Stanley downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,280,034 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $60,154,000 after buying an additional 2,472,263 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the second quarter valued at about $36,252,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 58.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,659,629 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,778,000 after purchasing an additional 2,456,914 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 4,894,063 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,269,000 after purchasing an additional 18,494 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,416,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,659,000 after purchasing an additional 929,478 shares during the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LYG traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $3.06. The company had a trading volume of 12,649,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,839,627. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $2.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.91. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12-month low of $2.00 and a 12-month high of $3.24. The company has a market capitalization of $46.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 1.31.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 10.89% and a return on equity of 9.81%. The business had revenue of $10.41 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.