Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) Stock Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Lloyds Banking Group's share price recently surpassed its 200-day moving average of GBX 73.50, reaching as high as GBX 84.12 during trading.
• Several analysts have revised their price targets for Lloyds, with Citigroup setting a target of GBX 77 and JPMorgan Chase raising theirs to GBX 85, while Royal Bank of Canada rated it as "outperform" with a target of GBX 95.
• Insider transactions indicate confidence in the company's performance, with significant share purchases made recently by insiders totaling over £139,000.

Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 73.50 ($0.99) and traded as high as GBX 84.12 ($1.14). Lloyds Banking Group shares last traded at GBX 83.70 ($1.13), with a volume of 98,463,906 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on LLOY shares. Shore Capital restated a "hold" rating and issued a GBX 74 target price on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of 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 shares of Lloyds Banking Group to an "outperform" rating and set a GBX 95 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 75 to GBX 77 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from GBX 79 to GBX 85 in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of GBX 86.80.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

The company has a market cap of £50.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.23. The business's fifty day moving average price is GBX 78.84 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 74.08.

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

Insider Transactions at Lloyds Banking Group

In other Lloyds Banking Group news, insider William Chalmers purchased 152,181 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 76 per share, for a total transaction of £115,657.56. Also, insider Chris Vogelzang bought 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 84 per share, for a total transaction of £42,000. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 471,274 shares of company stock worth $36,338,824. 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.