Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the six analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is GBX 60.60 ($0.78).

LLOY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price target on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 61 ($0.79) to GBX 71 ($0.92) and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Shore Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 55 ($0.71) to GBX 62 ($0.80) and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 1.3 %

LLOY stock opened at GBX 70.58 ($0.91) on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of £42.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.93, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.23. Lloyds Banking Group has a twelve month low of GBX 49.42 ($0.64) and a twelve month high of GBX 74.46 ($0.96). The business has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 65.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 59.38.

Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported GBX 6.30 ($0.08) earnings per share for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 11.22% and a net margin of 16.66%. Research analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group will post 7.3199528 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a GBX 2.11 ($0.03) dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a yield of 3.01%. This is a positive change from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous dividend of $1.06. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.95%.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

We are the largest UK retail and commercial financial services provider with over 25 million customers and a presence in nearly every community.

The Group’s main business activities are retail and commercial banking, general insurance and long-term savings, provided through the largest branch network and digital bank in the UK, with well recognised brands including Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows.

Our shares are quoted on the London and New York stock exchanges and we are one of the largest companies in the FTSE 100 index.