Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $3.81 and last traded at $3.67, with a volume of 45972110 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $3.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 2.1 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $3.02 and its 200-day moving average is $2.96. The firm has a market cap of $55.74 billion, a PE ratio of 11.12 and a beta of 1.31.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.76 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 11.45%. On average, analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.1035 per share. This represents a yield of 4%. This is a boost 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 payout ratio is 60.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lloyds Banking Group

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

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.