Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Shares Bought by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 65.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 478,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 189,458 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $1,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. May Hill Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $227,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,126,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,064,000 after purchasing an additional 70,838 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 389.2% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 133,398 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 106,128 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at $11,226,000. Finally, Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth $422,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. HSBC upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley raised Lloyds Banking Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Hsbc Global Res raised Lloyds Banking Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold".

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of LYG traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $4.21. 8,651,595 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,100,285. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 52-week low of $2.56 and a 52-week high of $4.30. The company has a market cap of $63.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.41.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.78 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 11.45%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.