Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Sets New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Lloyds Banking Group shares reached a new 52-week high of $4.42, showing significant trading activity with over 17 million shares exchanged.
• Recent analyst ratings have improved, with Wall Street Zen upgrading the stock from "hold" to "buy", and the average rating now classified as "Moderate Buy."
• The company reported quarterly earnings exceeding estimates, with $0.14 earnings per share against a forecast of $0.10, and generated revenue significantly higher than expected at $6.13 billion.

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $4.41 and last traded at $4.42, with a volume of 17407920 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $4.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LYG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $64.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's 50-day moving average is $4.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

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

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a $0.0655 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This represents a dividend yield of 370.0%. Lloyds Banking Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LYG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth $5,440,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 282.7% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 13,787 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 10,184 shares during the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 77,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 5,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth $579,000. 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.