Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Short Interest Down 15.9% in March

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,770,000 shares, a decrease of 15.9% from the February 28th total of 24,690,000 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 25,660,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on LYG. HSBC upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crux Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Brentview Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

LYG stock traded down $0.18 during trading on Thursday, reaching $3.67. The company had a trading volume of 35,435,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,478,971. The business has a 50 day moving average of $3.47 and a 200 day moving average of $3.08. The company has a market cap of $55.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 1.25. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 8.46%. Research analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group 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 paid a $0.1035 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. This is a positive change from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.61%.

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.