Cetera Investment Advisers Buys 172,594 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its Lloyds Banking Group stake by 9.6% in the first quarter, purchasing 172,594 shares and bringing its holdings to 1,970,659 shares valued at approximately $9.9 million. Other institutional investors, including WCM Investment Management and Janney Montgomery Scott, also expanded or initiated positions.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with seven Buy ratings and six Hold ratings producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus, despite downgrades from Weiss Ratings, Wall Street Zen and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
• LYG shares opened at $6.24, near their one-year high of $6.34. In its latest quarter, Lloyds reported $0.13 in earnings per share and $6.57 billion in revenue, both slightly below analyst expectations.

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 9.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,970,659 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 172,594 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $9,912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LYG. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $128,228,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 2,413.7% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,113,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,661,000 after buying an additional 2,989,604 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 53.9% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 6,614,695 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,031,000 after acquiring an additional 2,317,927 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 178.3% in the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 2,261,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,610,000 after acquiring an additional 1,448,691 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 17.4% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 8,815,679 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309,359 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LYG has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of LYG stock opened at $6.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $5.73 and a 200-day moving average of $5.55. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a one year low of $4.05 and a one year high of $6.34. The company has a market cap of $90.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.87.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.01). Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 25.11%.The firm had revenue of $6.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.86 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Lloyds Banking Group

Lloyds Banking Group plc is a UK-based banking and financial services company that provides a broad range of retail, commercial and insurance products. Its principal consumer-facing brands include Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, through which it offers current accounts, savings, mortgages, credit cards and personal loans. The group also delivers services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and larger corporate clients, supplying business accounts, lending, payments and cash-management solutions.

In addition to core banking, Lloyds operates a significant wealth and insurance arm under the Scottish Widows brand, offering life insurance, pensions, investment and retirement planning products.

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