Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Sees Large Volume Increase

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 18,941,332 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 107% from the previous session’s volume of 9,150,507 shares.The stock last traded at $2.48 and had previously closed at $2.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Bank of America raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.17.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $39.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.13, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 17.97% and a return on equity of 11.29%. The company had revenue of $19.05 billion for the quarter. Sell-side analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.046 per share. This represents a yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is 45.00%.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 35,079,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,176,000 after acquiring an additional 3,449,866 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position 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. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 8.7% in the third quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 29,131,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,050,000 after buying an additional 2,336,000 shares during the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 0.9% in the first quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 27,050,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,757,000 after buying an additional 236,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 22,166,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180,775 shares in the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is 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.