Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Downgraded by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to “Market Perform”

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) was downgraded by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports.

Separately, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 3.8 %

Lloyds Banking Group stock opened at $3.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $3.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.99. Lloyds Banking Group has a 1-year low of $2.42 and a 1-year high of $3.91.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 8.46%. On average, research analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 122,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 3,346 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 75,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,420 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 9.9% in the fourth 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 last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 109,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 3,728 shares during the period. Finally, Brio Consultants LLC lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 30.2% during the 4th quarter. Brio Consultants LLC now owns 16,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 3,880 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

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.