Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) shares saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 32,247,814 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 132% from the previous session’s volume of 13,885,036 shares.The stock last traded at $3.78 and had previously closed at $3.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 0.9 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $3.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 1.25.

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 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, equities research analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $0.1035 dividend. This is a boost from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a yield of 4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.61%.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYG. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in 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 valued at $19,309,000 after acquiring an additional 4,914,680 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,226,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 34.7% in the 4th 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. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 26,669,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,540,000 after acquiring an additional 2,713,559 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,280,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,154,000 after acquiring an additional 2,472,263 shares during the period. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.