Renaissance Technologies LLC Increases Stake in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 68.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 762,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 309,840 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC's holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $2,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYG. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 38.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 206,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 57,562 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 94,021 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 11,478 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $579,000. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC bought a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $422,000. Finally, Pitcairn Co. grew its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 77,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 5,003 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of LYG traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $3.86. 9,857,737 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,261,359. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 0.95. The business's 50-day moving average price is $3.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.17. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 1 year low of $2.56 and a 1 year high of $4.00.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.76 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $0.1035 dividend. This is a positive change from Lloyds Banking Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. Lloyds Banking Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.61%.

Lloyds Banking Group 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.