Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the nine analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is GBX 55.33 ($0.70).

LLOY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Shore Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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 report on Tuesday, April 9th. Peel Hunt initiated coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Friday, April 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a GBX 55 ($0.69) price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 59 ($0.74) target price on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upped their price target on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 55 ($0.69) to GBX 58 ($0.73) and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Lloyds Banking Group stock opened at GBX 54.06 ($0.68) on Friday. The firm has a market cap of £34.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 770.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average is GBX 50.82 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 46.33. Lloyds Banking Group has a one year low of GBX 39.42 ($0.50) and a one year high of GBX 54.44 ($0.68).

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of GBX 1.84 ($0.02) per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This is a boost from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous dividend of $0.92. This represents a yield of 4.25%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4,285.71%.

Insider Transactions at Lloyds Banking Group

In other news, insider William Chalmers purchased 128,118 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 52 ($0.65) per share, for a total transaction of £66,621.36 ($83,695.18). In related news, insider Robin Budenberg purchased 1,000,000 shares of Lloyds Banking Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 45 ($0.57) per share, for a total transaction of £450,000 ($565,326.63). Also, insider William Chalmers bought 128,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 52 ($0.65) per share, for a total transaction of £66,621.36 ($83,695.18). Company insiders own 0.20% 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.