Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG – Get Rating) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 13,769,687 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 44% from the previous session’s volume of 9,584,137 shares.The stock last traded at $2.22 and had previously closed at $2.30.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 55 ($0.67) to GBX 58 ($0.71) in a research report on Friday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 58 ($0.71) to GBX 61 ($0.74) in a research report on Monday, February 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 5.2 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The company has a market capitalization of $36.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.89, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.29.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.076 per share. This is a boost from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 13th. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LYG. Childress Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Great Diamond Partners LLC bought a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. bought a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

About Lloyds Banking Group

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Lloyds Banking Group Plc is a financial services company, which engages in the provision of banking and financial services. It operates through the following segments: Retail, Commercial Banking, Insurance and Wealth, and Other. The Retail segment offers broad range of financial service products, including current accounts, savings, mortgages, motor finance and unsecured consumer lending to personal, and small business customers.