Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Acquires New Shares in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 11,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $32,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brentview Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Morgan Stanley raised Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

LYG stock opened at $3.80 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $3.11 and a 200-day moving average of $2.99. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a fifty-two week low of $2.42 and a fifty-two week high of $3.91.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.76 billion. Equities analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.1035 per share. This represents a yield of 4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.61%.

Lloyds Banking Group 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.