Brokerages Set Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY) Target Price at GBX 57.17

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is GBX 55.40 ($0.70).

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LLOY shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 59 ($0.75) price target on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on shares of Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 55 ($0.70) to GBX 58 ($0.73) and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a “market perform” rating and set a GBX 50 ($0.63) price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 41 ($0.52) to GBX 45 ($0.57) and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Shore Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of LLOY opened at GBX 50.98 ($0.65) on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 47.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 45.30. The firm has a market capitalization of £32.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 637.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. Lloyds Banking Group has a 52 week low of GBX 39.42 ($0.50) and a 52 week high of GBX 54.28 ($0.69).

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 11th will be issued a GBX 1.84 ($0.02) dividend. This is a positive change from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous dividend of $0.92. This represents a yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3,750.00%.

Insider Transactions at Lloyds Banking Group

In other news, insider Robin Budenberg purchased 1,000,000 shares of Lloyds Banking Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 45 ($0.57) per share, with a total value of £450,000 ($569,548.16). In other news, insider William Chalmers purchased 128,118 shares of Lloyds Banking Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 52 ($0.66) per share, with a total value of £66,621.36 ($84,320.16). Also, insider Robin Budenberg acquired 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 45 ($0.57) per share, for a total transaction of £450,000 ($569,548.16). Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.