Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Upgraded at HSBC

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) was upgraded by HSBC from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on LYG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group stock traded down $0.03 on Tuesday, reaching $3.80. 30,064,883 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 28,050,510. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.64 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $3.44 and a 200 day moving average of $3.07. Lloyds Banking Group has a 52 week low of $2.42 and a 52 week high of $3.91.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.03). Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 11.45%. The firm had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.76 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 122,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 3,346 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 75,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 3,420 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 38,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 3,451 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 109,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 3,728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brio Consultants LLC grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Brio Consultants LLC now owns 16,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 3,880 shares during the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Lloyds Banking Group

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.