Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) Sets New 52-Week High on Insider Buying Activity

Key Points

• Lloyds Banking Group reached a new 52-week high, trading at GBX 84.24 ($1.13) with significant volume of 903,574,000 shares exchanged.
• Wall Street analysts have varying opinions on the stock; JPMorgan raised its rating to "neutral"" with a target of GBX 85, while Royal Bank Of Canada set a more optimistic target of GBX 95 with an "outperform" rating.
• Insider transactions were noted, with significant purchases made by company executives, indicating confidence in the firm’s future, as insiders accumulated over 421,000 shares valued at approximately $32 million in recent months.

Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as GBX 84.24 ($1.14) and last traded at GBX 84.06 ($1.13), with a volume of 903574000 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at GBX 83.70 ($1.13).

Specifically, insider Chris Vogelzang acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 84 per share, for a total transaction of £42,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on LLOY. Shore Capital restated a "hold" rating and issued a GBX 74 price objective on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 75 to GBX 77 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 92 to GBX 103 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Lloyds Banking Group to an "outperform" rating and set a GBX 95 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Lloyds Banking Group to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from GBX 79 to GBX 85 in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of GBX 86.80.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 0.5%

The company has a fifty day moving average price of GBX 78.84 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 74.08. The stock has a market capitalization of £50.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.45, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.23.

Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported GBX 3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 11.22% and a net margin of 16.66%. As a group, research analysts expect 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.