Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) Share Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report) shares 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 ($0.96). Lloyds Banking Group shares last traded at GBX 71.62 ($0.96), with a volume of 88,772,117 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. Shore Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of GBX 64.25 ($0.86).

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 0.6 %

The firm has a market cap of £43.15 billion, a PE ratio of 9.00, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 70.46 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 62.23.

Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts forecast 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 announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a GBX 2.11 ($0.03) dividend. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group's previous dividend of $1.06. This represents a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Lloyds Banking Group's payout ratio is presently 37.95%.

Insider Transactions at Lloyds Banking Group

In other Lloyds Banking Group news, insider William Chalmers sold 11,338 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 70 ($0.93), for a total value of £7,936.60 ($10,597.68). Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.