Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on LYG. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LYG opened at $5.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.45 billion, a PE ratio of 13.55, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. Lloyds Banking Group has a 1-year low of $4.36 and a 1-year high of $6.34. The business’s 50 day moving average is $6.04 and its 200-day moving average is $5.63.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm 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 year.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 66.0% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 394,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,298,000 after buying an additional 156,739 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $82,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 33,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $197,000 after acquiring an additional 4,752 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 67.4% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 642,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,748,000 after acquiring an additional 258,941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 14,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 2,410 shares in the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Lloyds Banking Group

Lloyds Banking Group plc is a major United Kingdom financial services provider whose shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LYG. The group serves individuals, families, small businesses and larger commercial customers through a range of banking, lending, insurance, investment and wealth-management services.

Its principal brands include Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows. Products and services include current and savings accounts, mortgages, personal loans, credit cards, business banking, commercial lending, investment products, pensions and life insurance.