Kepler Capital Markets Begins Coverage on Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG)

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

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of 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 shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. They set a buy rating for the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a neutral rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $32.38.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 3.3 %

LYG stock opened at $2.93 on Thursday. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.74. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12 month low of $1.88 and a 12 month high of $3.14. The company has a market capitalization of $45.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.71 and a beta of 1.35.

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

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 dividend of $0.0546 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 5th. This represents a dividend yield of 4.4%. This is a boost from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LYG. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 128.5% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 22,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 12,411 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth about $192,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 234.3% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 11,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 7,783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 21,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 4,813 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

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.