Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of GBX 68.62 ($0.93) and traded as high as GBX 76.06 ($1.03). Lloyds Banking Group shares last traded at GBX 75.66 ($1.02), with a volume of 82,250,672 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 62 ($0.84) to GBX 71 ($0.96) and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Shore Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of GBX 64.25 ($0.87).

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 0.5%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 75.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 68.97. The stock has a market cap of £45.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.23.

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) 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 7.3199528 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Lloyds Banking Group

In other news, insider William Chalmers bought 152,181 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 76 ($1.03) per share, with a total value of £115,657.56 ($156,019.91). Also, insider Charlie Nunn bought 238,593 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 76 ($1.03) per share, for a total transaction of £181,330.68 ($244,611.74). 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.