Royal Bank Of Canada Upgrades Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) to "Outperform"

Key Points

• The Royal Bank Of Canada has upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating, indicating increased confidence in the company's future performance.
• Several other analysts have also issued positive upgrades, with JPMorgan Chase moving Lloyds from "underweight" to "neutral," and Wall Street Zen and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgrading it to "buy" and "moderate buy," respectively.
• Lloyds Banking Group reported significant earnings, with an EPS of $0.14 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.10 and highlighting strong financial health and revenue growth.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

LYG stock opened at $4.38 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12 month low of $2.56 and a 12 month high of $4.44. The firm has a market cap of $65.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.05. The company's 50-day moving average price is $4.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.80.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.86 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 17.51% and a return on equity of 9.28%. On average, analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 119.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 125,225 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 68,064 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,604,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,444,000 after purchasing an additional 4,021,039 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 225.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 7,098,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,309,000 after purchasing an additional 4,914,680 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 61,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 2,617 shares during the period. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company's stock.

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.

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