Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on LYG. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Bank of America upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Berenberg Bank began coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of LYG stock opened at $5.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $6.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.87. Lloyds Banking Group has a 12 month low of $4.42 and a 12 month high of $6.34.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.01). Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 24.97% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The business had revenue of $6.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.86 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 12.0% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,731,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,095,000 after purchasing an additional 185,523 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 9.0% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 53,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 4,424 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,564,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,250,000 after buying an additional 351,626 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 66.0% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 394,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after buying an additional 156,739 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $82,000. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Lloyds Banking Group

Lloyds Banking Group plc is a United Kingdom-based financial services company headquartered in London. Its principal businesses include retail banking, commercial banking, insurance, pensions and long-term savings. The group serves individuals, small and medium-sized businesses, commercial clients and institutional customers primarily across the United Kingdom.

The group operates through well-known brands including Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows. Its products and services include current and savings accounts, mortgages, credit cards, personal loans, business banking, corporate lending, investment products, insurance and retirement planning.