Short Interest in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Drops By 25.3%

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,190,000 shares, a drop of 25.3% from the November 30th total of 9,620,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 10,320,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Shares of LYG stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $2.70. The stock had a trading volume of 7,785,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,668,697. The company has a market cap of $40.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12-month low of $2.00 and a 12-month high of $3.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.91.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYG. Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the second quarter valued at $36,252,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 49.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,577,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $23,415,000 after purchasing an additional 2,841,956 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,472,263 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings 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 worth $20,778,000 after buying an additional 2,456,914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 25.3% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 5,087,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,889,000 after buying an additional 1,026,639 shares during the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on LYG. Morgan Stanley cut Lloyds Banking Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Kepler Capital Markets began coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $2.75.

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.