May Hill Capital LLC Acquires New Shares in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

May Hill Capital LLC bought a new position in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 83,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brentview Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:LYG opened at $3.81 on Wednesday. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 12-month low of $2.42 and a 12-month high of $3.91. The company has a market capitalization of $57.80 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $3.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.07.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted 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 return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 11.45%. 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 business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $0.1035 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a yield of 4%. This is a boost 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.