Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Cuts Stock Position in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. cut its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 31.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,847 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $46,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LYG. Crux Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Brentview Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on LYG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. HSBC raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold”.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of LYG opened at $4.10 on Tuesday. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a twelve month low of $2.56 and a twelve month high of $4.11. The stock has a market cap of $62.04 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $3.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.25.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.78 billion. Analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a dividend yield of 4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.14%.

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.