Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Downgraded to "Hold" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on LYG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Monday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Lloyds Banking Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LYG opened at $4.59 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $4.45 and a 200 day moving average of $4.15. The stock has a market cap of $68.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12 month low of $2.56 and a 12 month high of $4.63.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.86 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 17.51% and a return on equity of 9.28%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 10,836.3% during the 2nd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 9,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 9,861 shares during the period. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company's stock.

About Lloyds Banking Group

Lloyds Banking Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of banking and financial services in the United Kingdom and internationally. It operates in three segments: Retail; Commercial Banking; and Insurance, Pensions and Investments. The Retail segment offers a range of financial service products, including current accounts, savings, mortgages, motor finance, unsecured loans, leasing solutions, and credit cards to personal customers.

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