Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 29,735,002 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 123% from the previous session’s volume of 13,338,895 shares.The stock last traded at $3.53 and had previously closed at $3.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on LYG. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Seven 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 3.2 %

The company has a market cap of $53.69 billion, a PE ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.99.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.03). Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The business had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.76 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.1035 per share. This is a positive change from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a yield of 4%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 122,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 3,346 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 75,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,420 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 38,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 3,451 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 109,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 3,728 shares during the period. Finally, Brio Consultants LLC boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 30.2% in the fourth quarter. Brio Consultants LLC now owns 16,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 3,880 shares during 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.