Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 12,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $34,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brentview Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LYG opened at $3.74 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $56.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 1.25. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 1 year low of $2.42 and a 1 year high of $3.91. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.03.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.03). Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 11.45%. The firm had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.1035 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is currently 60.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group 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.