Royal Bank Of Canada Upgrades Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) to Outperform

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Lloyds Banking Group to an "outperform" rating, with a price objective of GBX 95 ($1.26), suggesting a potential upside of 16.74% from the stock's previous close.
• Other analysts have varying views, with JPMorgan assigning an "underweight" rating and a target of GBX 79 ($1.05), while Citigroup set a neutral rating with a target of GBX 77 ($1.02).
• Recent transactions include insider purchases by Charlie Nunn and William Chalmers of over £295,000 combined, indicating confidence in the stock by company executives.

Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada to an "outperform" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Digital Look reports. The firm currently has a GBX 95 ($1.26) price objective on the financial services provider's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price target would suggest a potential upside of 16.74% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on LLOY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 78 ($1.04) to GBX 79 ($1.05) and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup raised their target price on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 75 ($1.00) to GBX 77 ($1.02) and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Shore Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a GBX 74 ($0.98) target price on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of GBX 76 ($1.01).

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of LON LLOY opened at GBX 81.37 ($1.08) on Monday. The firm has a market cap of £49.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.23. The business's 50-day simple moving average is GBX 76.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 71.60. Lloyds Banking Group has a 52 week low of GBX 52.44 ($0.70) and a 52 week high of GBX 82 ($1.09).

Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported GBX 3.80 ($0.05) EPS for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 11.22% and a net margin of 16.66%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 7.3199528 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Charlie Nunn bought 238,593 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of GBX 76 ($1.01) per share, for a total transaction of £181,330.68 ($240,779.02). Also, insider William Chalmers bought 152,181 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 76 ($1.01) per share, with a total value of £115,657.56 ($153,575.30). 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

We are the largest UK retail and commercial financial services provider with over 25 million customers and a presence in nearly every community. The Group's main business activities are retail and commercial banking, general insurance and long-term savings, provided through the largest branch network and digital bank in the UK, with well recognised brands including Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows. Our shares are quoted on the London and New York stock exchanges and we are one of the largest companies in the FTSE 100 index.

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