Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 65.71 ($0.89) and traded as high as GBX 76.88 ($1.04). Lloyds Banking Group shares last traded at GBX 76.23 ($1.03), with a volume of 80,740,586 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LLOY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 62 ($0.84) to GBX 71 ($0.96) and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 61 ($0.83) to GBX 71 ($0.96) and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Shore Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of GBX 64.25 ($0.87).

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 0.7%

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is GBX 73.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 65.71. The stock has a market capitalization of £46.22 billion, a PE ratio of 9.64, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.23.

Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported GBX 1.70 ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 16.66% and a return on equity of 11.22%. As a group, analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 7.3199528 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Lloyds Banking Group news, insider William Chalmers sold 11,338 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 70 ($0.95), for a total transaction of £7,936.60 ($10,758.57). 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Lloyds Banking Group

We are the largest UK retail and commercial financial services provider with over 25 million customers and a presence in nearly every community.

The Group’s main business activities are retail and commercial banking, general insurance and long-term savings, provided through the largest branch network and digital bank in the UK, with well recognised brands including Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows.

Our shares are quoted on the London and New York stock exchanges and we are one of the largest companies in the FTSE 100 index.