Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Lloyds Banking Group shares reached a new 52-week high after Citigroup upgraded its price target from GBX 75 to GBX 77, while maintaining a neutral rating.
• Insider purchases were significant, with Charlie Nunn acquiring 238,593 shares and William Chalmers buying 152,181 shares at GBX 76 each, indicating confidence in the stock.
• The bank reported an earnings per share (EPS) of GBX 3.80 and has a market capitalization of £48.98 billion, with analysts projecting an average EPS of 7.32 for the current fiscal year.

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from GBX 75 to GBX 77. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Lloyds Banking Group traded as high as GBX 80.92 ($1.07) and last traded at GBX 80.78 ($1.07), with a volume of 2147000000 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at GBX 75.69 ($1.01).

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Shore Capital reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a GBX 74 ($0.98) target price on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 78 ($1.04) to GBX 79 ($1.05) and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of GBX 69 ($0.92).

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Charlie Nunn acquired 238,593 shares of Lloyds Banking Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 76 ($1.01) per share, for a total transaction of £181,330.68 ($240,779.02). Also, insider William Chalmers acquired 152,181 shares of Lloyds Banking Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 76 ($1.01) per share, with a total value of £115,657.56 ($153,575.30). 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of £48.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.22, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.23. The company's 50 day moving average is GBX 76.75 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 71.60.

Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported GBX 3.80 ($0.05) EPS for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 16.66% and a return on equity of 11.22%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 7.3199528 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

We are the largest UK retail and commercial financial services provider with over 25 million customers and a presence in nearly every community. The Group's main business activities are retail and commercial banking, general insurance and long-term savings, provided through the largest branch network and digital bank in the UK, with well recognised brands including Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows. Our shares are quoted on the London and New York stock exchanges and we are one of the largest companies in the FTSE 100 index.

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