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

Key Points

• Lloyds Banking Group has been upgraded to a Buy rating by Wall Street Zen, moving from a previous "hold" rating.
• Analysts have shown mixed sentiment, with one analyst giving a Strong Buy rating, five issuing a Buy rating, and four assigning a Hold rating, resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• In the most recent earnings report, Lloyds reported earnings of $0.14 per share, exceeding estimates and reflecting a significant revenue beat of $6.13 billion compared to estimates of $4.86 billion.

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

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Lloyds Banking Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised Lloyds Banking Group from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of LYG stock opened at $4.44 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $66.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.18. Lloyds Banking Group has a 1-year low of $2.56 and a 1-year high of $4.69.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.86 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 17.51%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LYG. L1 Capital Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 2nd quarter worth $548,574,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 12.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 148,828,623 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $632,522,000 after acquiring an additional 16,705,846 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 178.3% in the 2nd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 2,261,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,610,000 after acquiring an additional 1,448,691 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 6.1% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Beck Bode LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 2nd quarter worth $5,254,000. 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.

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