Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 32,247,814 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 132% from the previous session’s volume of 13,885,036 shares.The stock last traded at $3.78 and had previously closed at $3.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on LYG shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 1.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $57.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s fifty day moving average is $3.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.02.

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

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $0.1035 dividend. This represents a yield of 4%. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is 60.61%.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 26,669,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,540,000 after acquiring an additional 2,713,559 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,280,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,154,000 after purchasing an additional 2,472,263 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,404,259 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,620,000 after purchasing an additional 453,326 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 34.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,604,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,444,000 after buying an additional 4,021,039 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 225.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 7,098,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,309,000 after buying an additional 4,914,680 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

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.