Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) Stock Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 62.23 ($0.83) and traded as high as GBX 71.68 ($0.95). Lloyds Banking Group shares last traded at GBX 71.62 ($0.95), with a volume of 88,772,117 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Shore Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 62 ($0.82) to GBX 71 ($0.94) and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 61 ($0.81) to GBX 71 ($0.94) and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of GBX 64.25 ($0.85).

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of £44.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of GBX 70.46 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 62.45.

Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported GBX 1.70 ($0.02) 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of GBX 2.11 ($0.03) per share. This represents a yield of 3.01%. 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. Lloyds Banking Group's payout ratio is presently 37.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of £7,936.60 ($10,545.58). 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Lloyds Banking Group

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.