Short Interest in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Increases By 56.9%

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 24,690,000 shares, an increase of 56.9% from the February 13th total of 15,740,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 23,320,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 58.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,659,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,778,000 after purchasing an additional 2,456,914 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the third quarter valued at $1,035,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,055,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,293,000 after purchasing an additional 180,178 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 58.3% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,703,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,316,000 after purchasing an additional 627,592 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 288,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 39,685 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Lloyds Banking Group stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Monday, reaching $3.71. 11,284,666 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,628,585. Lloyds Banking Group has a 52-week low of $2.42 and a 52-week high of $3.91. The firm has a market cap of $56.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.23 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50-day moving average is $3.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.00.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.76 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 8.46%. Analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.1035 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a yield of 4%. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is currently 60.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LYG. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.75.

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.