Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG Holdings Cut by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Key Points

• Crossmark Global Holdings cut its Lloyds Banking Group stake by 5.4% in the third quarter, selling 263,846 shares and retaining 4.58 million shares valued at approximately $25.8 million.
• Lloyds shares opened at $5.49, within a 12-month range of $4.49 to $6.34. The company’s latest quarterly results missed analyst expectations, reporting $0.13 in earnings per share versus a $0.14 consensus estimate.
• The dividend was reduced to $0.084 from $0.134, while analyst sentiment remains mixed: six analysts rate the stock Buy, four Hold and one Sell, producing a consensus Hold rating and a $6.00 average price target.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 5.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,580,241 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 263,846 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $25,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LYG. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 131.2% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 5,137 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 2,915 shares during the period. Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $71,000. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 12,423 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares during the period. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of LYG stock opened at $5.49 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a 12 month low of $4.49 and a 12 month high of $6.34. The stock has a market cap of $78.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.70.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last issued 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 10.94% and a net margin of 24.97%. The business had revenue of $6.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.86 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a $0.0840 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a yield of 273.0%. This is a decrease from Lloyds Banking Group's previous dividend of $0.1340. Lloyds Banking Group's payout ratio is 37.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $6.00.

Lloyds Banking Group Profile

Lloyds Banking Group plc is a UK-based financial services group whose American depositary shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LYG. The group provides banking, lending, insurance, pensions and investment services to individuals, businesses and institutional customers.

Its principal brands include Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows. Products and services include current and savings accounts, residential mortgages, personal and business loans, credit cards, commercial banking, asset finance, life insurance, pensions and investment solutions.

Lloyds Banking Group was formed in 2009 through the acquisition of HBOS by Lloyds TSB.

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