Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Coverage Initiated at Kepler Capital Markets

Kepler Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on LYG. UBS Group restated a neutral rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. They set a buy rating on the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $32.38.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Shares of LYG opened at $2.93 on Thursday. Lloyds Banking Group has a 1-year low of $1.88 and a 1-year high of $3.14. The stock has a market cap of $45.79 billion, a PE ratio of 7.71 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $2.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.74.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.55 billion during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LYG. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 9.2% in the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,060,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,517,000 after buying an additional 343,753 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 94.4% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 41,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 20,270 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 166.2% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 47,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 29,486 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 168.3% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 124,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 77,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 473,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 37,556 shares in the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.