Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred 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 74.62 ($1.01) and traded as high as GBX 80.42 ($1.09). Lloyds Banking Group shares last traded at GBX 78.50 ($1.06), with a volume of 140,385,969 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on LLOY shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 92 to GBX 103 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group to an "outperform" rating and set a GBX 95 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from GBX 79 to GBX 85 in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup increased their price target 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, Shore Capital reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a GBX 74 price target on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of GBX 86.80.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 0.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of £47.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,214.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of GBX 79.41 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 74.89.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Lloyds Banking Group

In related news, insider Chris Vogelzang purchased 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 84 per share, for a total transaction of £42,000. Also, insider Charlie Nunn purchased 238,593 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 76 per share, for a total transaction of £181,330.68. Insiders have purchased a total of 471,274 shares of company stock worth $36,338,824 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is 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.