Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG – Get Rating) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 13,769,687 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 44% from the previous session’s volume of 9,584,137 shares.The stock last traded at $2.22 and had previously closed at $2.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 55 ($0.67) to GBX 58 ($0.71) in a research report on Friday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 58 ($0.71) to GBX 60 ($0.73) in a research report on Wednesday, January 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 5.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.20. The firm has a market cap of $36.73 billion, a PE ratio of 5.89, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.29.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 14th will be issued a $0.076 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 13th. This is a boost from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.04. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LYG. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 35,079,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,176,000 after purchasing an additional 3,449,866 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 31,160,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,554,000 after purchasing an additional 4,454,102 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 91.5% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 27,526,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,558,000 after purchasing an additional 13,150,123 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 26,795,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,950,000 after purchasing an additional 828,000 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 22,183,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,595,000 after purchasing an additional 4,570,940 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

About Lloyds Banking Group

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Lloyds Banking Group Plc is a financial services company, which engages in the provision of banking and financial services. It operates through the following segments: Retail, Commercial Banking, Insurance and Wealth, and Other. The Retail segment offers broad range of financial service products, including current accounts, savings, mortgages, motor finance and unsecured consumer lending to personal, and small business customers.