Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG

Key Points

• Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. has reduced its stake in Lloyds Banking Group PLC by 18.5%, now holding shares worth approximately $2.56 million.
• Analysts have recently upgraded their ratings for Lloyds Banking Group, with firms like Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Royal Bank of Canada raising their recommendations to "buy" or "outperform."
• Lloyds Banking Group reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.14, exceeding estimates and demonstrating a net margin of 17.51%.

Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 18.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 641,487 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 145,242 shares during the period. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $2,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the first quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Rainey & Randall Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LYG. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group currently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Shares of LYG traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $4.53. 4,145,724 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,784,412. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.07. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a 52-week low of $2.56 and a 52-week high of $4.62. The company has a market cap of $67.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a $0.0655 dividend. This represents a yield of 370.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. Lloyds Banking Group's payout ratio is presently 30.00%.

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.