Natural Investments LLC Invests $132,000 in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Natural Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 48,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $132,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LYG. Brentview Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of LYG stock opened at $3.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $55.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.99 and a beta of 1.25. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a fifty-two week low of $2.42 and a fifty-two week high of $3.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $3.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.00.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.76 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 8.46%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal 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%.

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.