Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) Short Interest Up 27.6% in January

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 7,488,333 shares, a growth of 27.6% from the January 15th total of 5,869,436 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 8,959,799 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 8,959,799 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 151,258,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $801,673,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300,718 shares in the last quarter. L1 Capital Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 2nd quarter worth $548,574,000. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $285,004,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 14,802,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,456,000 after acquiring an additional 673,473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 3.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,279,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,828,000 after acquiring an additional 541,501 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LYG shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Monday, December 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

LYG traded down $0.22 on Monday, reaching $5.61. 48,663,038 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,254,756. The company has a market cap of $82.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.87. Lloyds Banking Group has a twelve month low of $3.13 and a twelve month high of $6.34. The company’s 50 day moving average is $5.50 and its 200-day moving average is $4.91.

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

Lloyds Banking Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $0.134 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 447.0%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio 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.