Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $5.35 and last traded at $5.3250, with a volume of 5437871 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $5.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on LYG. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Monday, December 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 0.8%

The company’s fifty day moving average is $4.97 and its 200 day moving average is $4.58. The firm has a market cap of $77.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.89.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $6.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 18.04%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. L1 Capital Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $548,574,000. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the third quarter worth $285,004,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 12.6% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 148,828,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $632,522,000 after acquiring an additional 16,705,846 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $63,928,000. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 53.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 6,614,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,317,927 shares during the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

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.