HSBC Upgrades Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) to “Buy”

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) was upgraded by analysts at HSBC from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports.

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

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:LYG traded down $0.03 on Tuesday, reaching $3.80. 30,064,883 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 28,050,510. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 1.25. Lloyds Banking Group has a 1-year low of $2.42 and a 1-year high of $3.91. The company’s 50 day moving average is $3.44 and its 200-day moving average is $3.07.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 122,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 3,346 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 75,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,420 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 38,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 3,451 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 109,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 3,728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brio Consultants LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Brio Consultants LLC now owns 16,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 3,880 shares during the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Lloyds Banking Group

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.