Focus Partners Wealth Acquires 806,543 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth significantly increased its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 7,365% during the first quarter, acquiring a total of 817,494 shares valued at approximately $3.12 million.
• Lloyds Banking Group's stock saw a rise of 2.2% and reported earnings of $0.14 per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.10 per share, along with revenue of $6.13 billion.
• The company has recently declared a semi-annual dividend of $0.0655 per share, with a remarkable 370% dividend yield, scheduled for payout on September 19th.

Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 7,365.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 817,494 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 806,543 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $3,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYG. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Rainey & Randall Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

LYG stock traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $4.46. 3,278,507 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,137,801. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.46 billion, a PE ratio of 11.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $4.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.09. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a 52 week low of $2.56 and a 52 week high of $4.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.86 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 17.51%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were given a $0.0655 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 370.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. Lloyds Banking Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.50%.

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.