Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Coverage Initiated at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) in a research report report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 5th. UBS Group restated a neutral rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut Lloyds Banking Group from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets began coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE LYG opened at $3.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $48.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.09 and a beta of 1.34. Lloyds Banking Group has a twelve month low of $1.88 and a twelve month high of $3.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The business’s fifty day moving average is $3.01 and its 200 day moving average is $2.84.

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

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at $327,000. Abel Hall LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 22,166,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,978,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.