Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on LYG shares. HSBC upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Lloyds Banking Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group stock traded up $0.07 on Thursday, reaching $4.22. 12,616,896 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,136,069. The company's 50-day moving average is $3.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.41. The firm has a market cap of $63.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 1.01. Lloyds Banking Group has a 1-year low of $2.56 and a 1-year high of $4.30.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.03. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 11.45%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.78 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,168 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 2,573 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 61,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 2,617 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 27.2% during the 1st quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 12,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,758 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 15,369 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 2,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crumly & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 36,162 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,884 shares in the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by 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.