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

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $4.30 and last traded at $4.29, with a volume of 3989364 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $4.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on LYG shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. HSBC raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group presently has an average rating of "Hold".

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $63.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's 50 day moving average is $3.86 and its 200-day moving average is $3.33.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 26,669,053 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,540,000 after acquiring an additional 2,713,559 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 6.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 24,154,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $92,269,000 after acquiring an additional 1,397,163 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,404,259 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,620,000 after acquiring an additional 453,326 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 34.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,604,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,444,000 after acquiring an additional 4,021,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 9.0% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,492,898 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,083,000 after acquiring an additional 863,347 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company's stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

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.