Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Short Interest Update

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

NYSE:LYG remained flat at $4.21 during trading hours on Friday. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,036,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,001,895. The business's 50-day moving average price is $3.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 0.97. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12 month low of $2.56 and a 12 month high of $4.30.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 26,669,053 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,540,000 after purchasing an additional 2,713,559 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 6.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,397,163 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,404,259 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,620,000 after purchasing an additional 453,326 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 34.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,604,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,444,000 after acquiring an additional 4,021,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,492,898 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,083,000 after acquiring an additional 863,347 shares in the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.