Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Research Coverage Started at The Goldman Sachs Group

Stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set a "neutral" rating on the financial services provider's stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on LYG. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. BNP Paribas upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 5th. Kepler Capital Markets started coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Citigroup lowered Lloyds Banking Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE:LYG traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $3.09. The company had a trading volume of 10,366,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,655,399. The stock has a market cap of $48.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.83. Lloyds Banking Group has a one year low of $1.88 and a one year high of $3.18.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LYG. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $327,000. Abel Hall LLC acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 22,166,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $52,978,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180,775 shares during the period. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company's stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

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.