Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Short Interest Down 54.1% in May

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,680,000 shares, a decrease of 54.1% from the April 30th total of 10,190,000 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 37,160,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LYG. HSBC raised Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Lloyds Banking Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Lloyds Banking Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold".

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:LYG traded down $0.08 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $4.20. 14,265,836 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,004,343. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $3.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.35. Lloyds Banking Group has a 52 week low of $2.56 and a 52 week high of $4.30. The company has a market cap of $63.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 0.97.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.03. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.78 billion. On average, analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crux Wealth Advisors bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Brentview Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company's stock.

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.