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

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 25,320,000 shares, a growth of 21.9% from the March 15th total of 20,770,000 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 29,900,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 3rd quarter worth $486,000. Virtu Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 325.7% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 184,829 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $577,000 after acquiring an additional 141,409 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 118.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 198,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 107,395 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $262,000. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Lloyds Banking Group stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $3.94. 9,033,806 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,986,310. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $3.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.14. The company has a market capitalization of $59.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 0.95. Lloyds Banking Group has a 52-week low of $2.51 and a 52-week high of $3.96.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.03). Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The firm had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.76 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $0.1035 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from Lloyds Banking Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a yield of 4%. Lloyds Banking Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on LYG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. HSBC raised Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Lloyds Banking Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $2.75.

About Lloyds Banking Group

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.