Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) Shares Bought by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 119.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,225 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 68,064 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crux Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 1.1%

LYG stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $4.17. The stock had a trading volume of 20,676,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,256,616. The firm has a market cap of $62.73 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.01. The company's 50-day moving average price is $4.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.46. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a 12-month low of $2.56 and a 12-month high of $4.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.78 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 8.62%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.