Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) Short Interest Up 69.0% in August

Key Points

• Short interest surged 69% in August to 2.8 million shares, although that represents just 0.0% of Lloyds Banking Group’s outstanding shares and only 0.2 days of average trading volume to cover.
• Institutional investors increased their positions, while analysts remain broadly positive: seven rate the stock a Buy and four rate it a Hold, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating.
• Lloyds shares recently traded at $5.87, within a 12-month range of $4.20 to $6.34. The company’s latest quarterly EPS and revenue fell slightly short of estimates, and it declared a dividend of $0.084 per share.

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 2,803,823 shares, an increase of 69.0% from the July 30th total of 1,659,386 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 12,929,713 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.2 days. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LYG. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 1st quarter worth about $128,228,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2,413.7% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,113,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,661,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989,604 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 53.9% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 6,614,695 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,317,927 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 386.4% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,528,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,717,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008,380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 178.3% during 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 buying an additional 1,448,691 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on LYG shares. Weiss Ratings raised Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Lloyds Banking Group from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Lloyds Banking Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LYG traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $5.87. 11,714,889 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,282,518. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $6.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.52. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12 month low of $4.20 and a 12 month high of $6.34. The firm has a market cap of $85.33 billion, a PE ratio of 13.65, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.87.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.86 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 24.97%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of $0.084 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a yield of 273.0%. Lloyds Banking Group's dividend payout ratio is 37.21%.

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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