Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Receives $2.75 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $2.75.

Separately, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

NYSE LYG opened at $3.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $55.51 billion, a PE ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $3.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.99. Lloyds Banking Group has a fifty-two week low of $2.42 and a fifty-two week high of $3.91.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 11.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $0.1035 dividend. This represents a yield of 4%. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 58.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,659,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,778,000 after purchasing an additional 2,456,914 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the third quarter valued at about $1,035,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 36.6% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 757,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,363,000 after acquiring an additional 202,862 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 20.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,055,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,293,000 after acquiring an additional 180,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 58.3% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,703,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,316,000 after acquiring an additional 627,592 shares during the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.