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

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 equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group has an average rating of "Buy".

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 0.7%

LYG traded up $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $4.51. 4,090,746 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,040,968. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $4.34 and a 200 day moving average of $4.06. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12-month low of $2.56 and a 12-month high of $4.62.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $6.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.86 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 4.2% in the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 1,596,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,097,000 after acquiring an additional 64,952 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 119.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 125,225 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 68,064 shares during the period. ICONIQ Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 194.1% in the first quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 87,502 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 57,750 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 225.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 7,098,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,309,000 after acquiring an additional 4,914,680 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 6.0% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,011,774 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,785,000 after acquiring an additional 399,866 shares during the period. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.