Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) from a moderate buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday morning,Zacks.com reports.

LYG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Berenberg Bank started coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of LYG stock opened at $5.97 on Friday. Lloyds Banking Group has a 52 week low of $4.05 and a 52 week high of $6.34. The company has a market capitalization of $87.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.58, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 25.11% and a return on equity of 10.63%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 10.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,126,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,305,000 after purchasing an additional 108,100 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 124.1% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 263,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,006,000 after buying an additional 145,772 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 812,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,103,000 after buying an additional 126,247 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 162.2% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 7,253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the first quarter worth about $639,000. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

About Lloyds Banking Group

Lloyds Banking Group plc is a UK-based banking and financial services company that provides a broad range of retail, commercial and insurance products. Its principal consumer-facing brands include Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, through which it offers current accounts, savings, mortgages, credit cards and personal loans. The group also delivers services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and larger corporate clients, supplying business accounts, lending, payments and cash-management solutions.

In addition to core banking, Lloyds operates a significant wealth and insurance arm under the Scottish Widows brand, offering life insurance, pensions, investment and retirement planning products.