Guggenheim Capital LLC Takes $56,000 Position in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Guggenheim Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 20,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $56,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crux Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Brentview Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on LYG shares. Hsbc Global Res raised Lloyds Banking Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. 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 lowered Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, HSBC raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group stock opened at $3.99 on Wednesday. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 12 month low of $2.55 and a 12 month high of $4.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 0.95.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.03). Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The company had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. Analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.1035 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.61%.

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.