Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) Sets New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as GBX 75.84 ($1.01) and last traded at GBX 75.84 ($1.01), with a volume of 101602086 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 75 ($1.00).

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Shore Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 61 ($0.81) to GBX 71 ($0.95) and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 62 ($0.83) to GBX 71 ($0.95) and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of GBX 64.25 ($0.86).

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 70.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 63.05. The firm has a market cap of £46.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.23.

Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported GBX 1.70 ($0.02) 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%. Analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 7.3199528 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of GBX 2.11 ($0.03) per share. This is a boost from Lloyds Banking Group's previous dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a yield of 3.01%. Lloyds Banking Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lloyds Banking Group news, insider William Chalmers sold 11,338 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 70 ($0.93), for a total transaction of £7,936.60 ($10,600.51). Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

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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