Short Interest in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Grows By 56.9%

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 24,690,000 shares, a growth of 56.9% from the February 13th total of 15,740,000 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 23,320,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LYG. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $2.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crux Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Brentview Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company's stock.

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Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 1.5 %

LYG stock traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $3.75. The stock had a trading volume of 26,464,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,764,044. Lloyds Banking Group has a 52-week low of $2.42 and a 52-week high of $3.91. The company has a market cap of $56.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 1.25. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $3.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.01.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.76 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

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

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.