Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Short Interest Down 21.8% in July

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,770,000 shares, a decrease of 21.8% from the July 15th total of 12,490,000 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,630,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 2.8% during the second quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 135,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 3,752 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank lifted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 1,001,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,733,000 after purchasing an additional 3,976 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 61,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 3,986 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 38,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 4,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 7.3% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 61,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 4,194 shares during the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LYG. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.38.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

LYG traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $3.02. 3,542,995 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,296,156. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.84 and a beta of 1.35. Lloyds Banking Group has a 52-week low of $1.88 and a 52-week high of $3.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $2.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.63.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $9.55 billion for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 12.40%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be given a $0.0546 dividend. This is a boost from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 5th. This represents a yield of 4.4%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

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.