Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Hits New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $4.11 and last traded at $4.10, with a volume of 41196826 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $3.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LYG shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. HSBC raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 0.2%

The company's 50-day moving average price is $3.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.28. The company has a market cap of $64.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 0.97.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.03. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.78 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $0.1035 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. This is a positive change from Lloyds Banking Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group's dividend payout ratio is 57.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYG. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $639,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 162.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,724 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 7,253 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 7,365.0% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 817,494 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,123,000 after buying an additional 806,543 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 18.4% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 812,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,103,000 after buying an additional 126,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Logan Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 1.3% in the first quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,092,492 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,173,000 after buying an additional 14,451 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.