Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $3.24 and last traded at $3.24, with a volume of 6380697 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $3.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 0.5 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $2.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.24 and a beta of 1.31.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,322,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,596,000 after buying an additional 280,214 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 38,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 3,451 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 35,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 5,970 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,604,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,444,000 after buying an additional 4,021,039 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 54,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 11,939 shares during the period. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Lloyds Banking Group

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.