Short Interest in Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) Decreases By 49.3%

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,659,386 shares, a decrease of 49.3% from the July 15th total of 3,270,365 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 17,259,911 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.1 days.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LYG. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 1.5% in the second quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 126,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,841 shares during the period. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 18,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 1,891 shares during the period. Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management inc. grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management inc. now owns 104,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 18,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 2,009 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,051 shares in the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on LYG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Berenberg Bank assumed coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group stock traded down $0.07 on Tuesday, reaching $6.08. The company had a trading volume of 10,935,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,739,029. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $5.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.52. Lloyds Banking Group has a 52-week low of $4.20 and a 52-week high of $6.34. The firm has a market cap of $88.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.13, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.87.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.01). Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 24.97% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The company had revenue of $6.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.86 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.084 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a yield of 273.0%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.21%.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

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.