Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 16,730,546 shares, an increase of 81.6% from the September 15th total of 9,213,756 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 15,511,175 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 48.1% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 17,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 5,831 shares in the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 453,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,550,000 after acquiring an additional 7,171 shares during the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 44,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 5,254 shares during the last quarter. LifeGoal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $79,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 102,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $578,000 after acquiring an additional 7,374 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LYG. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6.00.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group stock opened at $5.47 on Thursday. Lloyds Banking Group has a 52-week low of $4.44 and a 52-week high of $6.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $5.86 and a 200 day moving average of $5.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The company has a market capitalization of $79.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.91.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $6.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.86 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.0840 per share. This is a decrease from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous dividend of $0.1340. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 273.0%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.53%.

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.