Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $4.23, but opened at $4.04. Lloyds Banking Group shares last traded at $4.00, with a volume of 4,306,580 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on LYG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Lloyds Banking Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. HSBC raised Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Lloyds Banking Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group presently has an average rating of "Hold".

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 2.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $62.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $4.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.58.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.78 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 14.39%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LYG. Crux Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.