Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Lowered to Neutral at Citigroup

Citigroup downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on LYG. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BNP Paribas upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. They set a buy rating on the stock. UBS Group restated a neutral rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Berenberg Bank started coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. They set a hold rating and a $2.75 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $32.38.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:LYG opened at $2.89 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.60. Lloyds Banking Group has a 52-week low of $1.88 and a 52-week high of $3.13. The company has a market capitalization of $45.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.59 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be paid a $0.0546 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 5th. This represents a dividend yield of 4.4%. This is a positive change from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LYG. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 49.6% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,577,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,415,000 after purchasing an additional 2,841,956 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 30.0% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 836,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,283,000 after purchasing an additional 192,994 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the second quarter valued at about $69,000. D Orazio & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 62.2% in the second quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 25,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 9,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 17.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,472,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,939,000 after purchasing an additional 804,035 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

About Lloyds Banking Group

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.