Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Shares Gap Up to $2.73

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $2.73, but opened at $2.81. Lloyds Banking Group shares last traded at $2.81, with a volume of 2,680,155 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LYG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $2.75 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.55.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $43.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.32, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a 50 day moving average of $2.73 and a 200 day moving average of $2.49.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.35% and a net margin of 13.41%. The firm had revenue of $14.35 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LYG. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,986,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,491,000 after buying an additional 228,359 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 94.4% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 41,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 20,270 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 309,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $740,000 after buying an additional 12,334 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 157,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 11,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 168.3% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 124,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 77,886 shares during the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.