Analysts Set Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Price Target at $2.75

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $2.75.

Separately, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 4.6% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 221,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $691,000 after buying an additional 9,721 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 3.3% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 157,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 5,089 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 176.7% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 58,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 37,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 757,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,363,000 after buying an additional 202,862 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 2.7 %

NYSE:LYG opened at $3.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.64 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 1.31. Lloyds Banking Group has a 52 week low of $2.42 and a 52 week high of $3.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3.09 and a 200-day moving average of $2.98.

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

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $0.1035 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 4%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.61%.

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.