Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Key Points

• Lloyds Banking Group received a rating upgrade from "hold" to "buy" by Wall Street Zen, reflecting increasing analyst confidence in the stock.
• Multiple analysts, including Goldman Sachs and Royal Bank of Canada, have recently raised their ratings on Lloyds Banking Group, indicating a positive outlook among financial institutions.
• The company's recent earnings report revealed a strong performance, with an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.14, exceeding expectations of $0.10, signaling robust financial health.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy".

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Lloyds Banking Group stock opened at $4.35 on Friday. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12-month low of $2.56 and a 12-month high of $4.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's 50-day moving average is $4.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.86 billion. Equities analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LYG. L1 Capital Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $548,574,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 12.6% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 148,828,623 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $632,522,000 after buying an additional 16,705,846 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 225.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 7,098,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,309,000 after buying an additional 4,914,680 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 178.3% during the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 2,261,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,610,000 after buying an additional 1,448,691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.