Park Avenue Securities LLC Sells 122,481 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG

Key Points

• Park Avenue Securities LLC reduced its stake in Lloyds Banking Group PLC by 25.6%, selling 122,481 shares and owning 355,854 shares valued at $1,512,000 at the end of the last quarter.
• Several analysts have upgraded their ratings for Lloyds Banking Group, with Goldman Sachs, Wall Street Zen, and Royal Bank Of Canada among those raising their outlooks to a "buy" or "outperform" rating.
• The company recently reported $0.14 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, and remains committed to a dividend yield of 370.0% with a payout ratio of 32.50%.

Park Avenue Securities LLC lowered its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 25.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 355,854 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 122,481 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $1,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Advisor Resource Council bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Rainey & Randall Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, September 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Lloyds Banking Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised Lloyds Banking Group from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

NYSE:LYG opened at $4.39 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $4.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.34 billion, a PE ratio of 10.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.05. 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 PLC has a twelve month low of $2.56 and a twelve month high of $4.63.

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

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

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

Lloyds Banking Group Profile

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.

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