Peel Hunt Begins Coverage on Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY)

Peel Hunt assumed coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a GBX 55 ($0.68) price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 41 ($0.51) to GBX 45 ($0.56) and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Lloyds Banking Group to a market perform rating and set a GBX 50 ($0.62) price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on Lloyds Banking Group from GBX 55 ($0.68) to GBX 58 ($0.72) and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a buy rating and set a GBX 59 ($0.73) price objective on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Shore Capital restated a buy rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of GBX 55.33 ($0.69).

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of LLOY stock opened at GBX 50.92 ($0.63) on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 48.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of GBX 45.56. Lloyds Banking Group has a fifty-two week low of GBX 39.42 ($0.49) and a fifty-two week high of GBX 54.28 ($0.68). The stock has a market capitalization of £32.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 636.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 11th will be paid a GBX 1.84 ($0.02) dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 4.25%. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3,750.00%.

Insider Activity at Lloyds Banking Group

In other Lloyds Banking Group news, insider William Chalmers bought 128,118 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 52 ($0.65) per share, with a total value of £66,621.36 ($82,934.59). In other news, insider Robin Budenberg acquired 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 45 ($0.56) per share, with a total value of £450,000 ($560,189.22). Also, insider William Chalmers acquired 128,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 52 ($0.65) per share, for a total transaction of £66,621.36 ($82,934.59). 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.