Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Lloyds Banking Group Call Options (NYSE:LYG)

Key Points

• Unusually high options activity: Investors bought 30,067 call options on LYG—about a 3,000% increase over the average daily volume of 970 calls.
• Analyst sentiment trending positive: Seven analysts rate LYG a Buy and three a Hold, giving an average rating of “Moderate Buy”, with recent upgrades from Citigroup and Weiss Ratings and a downgrade from BNP Paribas Exane.
• Company results and shareholder payout: Lloyds reported Q earnings of $0.12 EPS (beating $0.11), shares rose 1.2% to $5.62, and the firm announced a $0.134 dividend payable May 29 (record/ex‑dividend date April 10).

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors bought 30,067 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 3,000% compared to the average daily volume of 970 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on LYG shares. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 2,671.6% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 5,959 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 5,744 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 115.2% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 6,092 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 3,261 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 47.3% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,386 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,051 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company's stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of LYG stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Thursday, hitting $5.62. 12,795,095 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,952,441. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.89. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $5.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.13. Lloyds Banking Group has a twelve month low of $3.49 and a twelve month high of $6.34.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.52 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 10.06%. As a group, analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.134 per share. This represents a yield of 447.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Lloyds Banking Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.95%.

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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