Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) Stock Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 61.13 ($0.81) and traded as high as GBX 71.10 ($0.94). Lloyds Banking Group shares last traded at GBX 70.32 ($0.93), with a volume of 86,028,359 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 61 ($0.81) to GBX 71 ($0.94) and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Shore Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of GBX 64.25 ($0.85).

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 3.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of £44.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 69.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 61.41.

Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported GBX 6.30 ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 16.66% and a return on equity of 11.22%. Research analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 7.3199528 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of GBX 2.11 ($0.03) per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Lloyds Banking Group's previous dividend of $1.06. This represents a dividend yield of 3.01%. Lloyds Banking Group's payout ratio is currently 37.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider William Chalmers sold 11,338 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 70 ($0.93), for a total transaction of £7,936.60 ($10,532.98). Corporate 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.