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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 0.6%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $3.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.31. The company has a market capitalization of $63.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 26,669,053 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,540,000 after buying an additional 2,713,559 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 6.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 24,154,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,269,000 after buying an additional 1,397,163 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,404,259 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,620,000 after purchasing an additional 453,326 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,604,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,444,000 after purchasing an additional 4,021,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 9.0% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,492,898 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,083,000 after purchasing an additional 863,347 shares in the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.