Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Hits New 1-Year High at $3.15

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $3.15 and last traded at $3.14, with a volume of 672066 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $3.09.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LYG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 5th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Kepler Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.45. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $3.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 1.35.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $9.55 billion during the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 10.34%. Research analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.0546 per share. This represents a yield of 4.4%. This is a positive change from Lloyds Banking Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Lloyds Banking Group's payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LYG. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 39.2% in the 1st quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 89,948,537 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $232,967,000 after acquiring an additional 25,351,270 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 149.9% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 29,696,591 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $70,975,000 after acquiring an additional 17,814,615 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,252,000. Morningstar Investment Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 96.9% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 21,147,627 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $50,966,000 after acquiring an additional 10,406,673 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $23,415,000 after acquiring an additional 2,841,956 shares during the period. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.