Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) Given Buy Rating at Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies reaffirmed a Buy rating on Lloyds Banking Group with a GBX 127 price target, implying 34.9% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: four analysts rate the stock Buy, four Hold and one Sell, producing an overall Hold consensus and an average target of GBX 116.
• Lloyds shares fell 4.6% to GBX 94.15 amid concerns about mixed results, rising costs and potential increases to the UK bank tax, despite reported quarterly EPS of GBX 4.80 and continued lending growth.

Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a research note issued on Friday, Digital Look reports. They presently have a GBX 127 target price on the financial services provider's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's target price suggests a potential upside of 34.90% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a "sector perform" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from GBX 124 to GBX 115 in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Berenberg Bank dropped their price objective on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 121 to GBX 117 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 121 to GBX 123 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a GBX 125 target price on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of GBX 116.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 4.6%

LLOY traded down GBX 4.51 during trading on Friday, hitting GBX 94.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,642,509,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 176,704,219. Lloyds Banking Group has a one year low of GBX 85.82 and a one year high of GBX 123.10. The business's 50 day simple moving average is GBX 106.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 104.54. The firm has a market cap of £54.07 billion, a PE ratio of 11.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.94.

Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported GBX 4.80 EPS for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 11.05% and a net margin of 26.73%. Equities research analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider William Chalmers sold 8,445,139 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 112, for a total transaction of £9,458,555.68. Also, insider Catherine Woods bought 1,810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 110 per share, for a total transaction of £1,991. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Lloyds Banking Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Lloyds Banking Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Profit before tax rose 42% to £6.625 billion for the first nine months of 2026, helped by higher interest and fee income and lower remediation costs. Lloyds reaffirmed its full-year guidance, while a Bank of America analyst maintained a Buy rating and GBX 140 price target. Lloyds Buy Rating Maintained
• Positive Sentiment: Lloyds’ mortgage book expanded by £300 million, indicating continued lending growth even though the bank accounted for 17% of mortgage completions. Lloyds Mortgage Book Grows
• Neutral Sentiment: Lloyds reported its capitalisation and indebtedness as of September 30. The filing provides balance-sheet transparency but did not appear to introduce a major new catalyst for the shares. Lloyds Capitalisation and Debt Position
• Negative Sentiment: Investors viewed the third-quarter results as mixed: although quarterly profit was approximately £2.3 billion, reports highlighted misses, rising costs and a flat outlook. Jefferies’ concerns contributed to the sell-off, showing that strong historical earnings were not enough to improve sentiment. Lloyds Shares Fall as Jefferies Flags Misses
• Negative Sentiment: Lloyds warned that a proposed £1.5 billion increase in the bank tax could weaken UK economic growth and competitiveness. The potential hit to profitability and lending is an overhang for LLOY. Lloyds Executive Criticises Bank Tax Rise
• Negative Sentiment: Berenberg lowered its price target from GBX 121 to GBX 117 and changed its stance to Hold, adding to analyst caution. Berenberg Lloyds Rating

About Lloyds Banking Group

We are the largest UK retail and commercial financial services provider with over 25 million customers and a presence in nearly every community. The Group's main business activities are retail and commercial banking, general insurance and long-term savings, provided through the largest branch network and digital bank in the UK, with well recognised brands including Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows. Our shares are quoted on the London and New York stock exchanges and we are one of the largest companies in the FTSE 100 index.

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