Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Short Interest Down 21.8% in July

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,770,000 shares, a decrease of 21.8% from the July 15th total of 12,490,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 9,630,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of LYG stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3.02. The stock had a trading volume of 3,544,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,296,156. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 1.35. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12-month low of $1.88 and a 12-month high of $3.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $2.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.64.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $9.55 billion during the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 12.40%. On average, analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.0546 per share. This is a boost from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 5th. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada cut Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup cut Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, May 9th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Berenberg Bank began coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, April 25th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $2.75 target price for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.38.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD raised its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 39.2% in the first quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 89,948,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $232,967,000 after buying an additional 25,351,270 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 149.9% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 29,696,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,975,000 after buying an additional 17,814,615 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC raised its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 96.9% in the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 21,147,627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,966,000 after buying an additional 10,406,673 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 49.6% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,577,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,415,000 after buying an additional 2,841,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 195.8% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 2,833,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,339,000 after buying an additional 1,875,688 shares during the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.