Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts' consensus: Lloyds Banking Group has an average recommendation of Moderate Buy from 10 covering firms, with six Buy and four Hold ratings.
• Latest quarter: the bank reported EPS of $0.12 (beat the $0.11 estimate) while revenue of $6.38 billion slightly missed forecasts, and analysts expect full-year EPS of about $0.27.
• Dividend: Lloyds declared a $0.134 per-share dividend payable May 29 to shareholders of record April 10 (ex-dividend April 10), with a reported dividend payout ratio of 30.95%.

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LYG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Lloyds Banking Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 921,703 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,885,000 after purchasing an additional 7,570 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 34,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,974 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company's stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

LYG stock opened at $5.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. Lloyds Banking Group has a 1 year low of $3.27 and a 1 year high of $6.34. The firm has a market cap of $76.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.13.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.01. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.06% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.52 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.134 per share. This represents a yield of 447.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. Lloyds Banking Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.95%.

About Lloyds Banking Group

Lloyds Banking Group plc is a UK-based banking and financial services company that provides a broad range of retail, commercial and insurance products. Its principal consumer-facing brands include Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, through which it offers current accounts, savings, mortgages, credit cards and personal loans. The group also delivers services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and larger corporate clients, supplying business accounts, lending, payments and cash-management solutions.

In addition to core banking, Lloyds operates a significant wealth and insurance arm under the Scottish Widows brand, offering life insurance, pensions, investment and retirement planning products.

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