Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LSE:LLOY) is a ‘buy’ for Deutsche Bank, which has set a 60p price target for its British peer.
The FTSE 100 group reported a strong beat in capital and income, upgrading 2021 guidance to reflect better margins.
READ: Lloyds Banking stays tight-lipped on dividends and buybacks so what is it planning?
Reporting results for the first time under new chief executive Charlie Nunn, the UK’s biggest lender said the improved performance reflected gradually increasing customer activity and particularly strong returns in its equity investment business.
Total net income in the third quarter of GBP4.1bn was up 20% compared to the same period a year ago, with the nine months of the year so far up 8% to GBP11.6bn.
This was helped by the banking net interest margin improving to 2.52% from 2.2% in the first half.
Statutory profit before tax of GBP2bn in the quarter was almost double the level a year ago, while underlying profit was up 88% to GBP2.2bn. Analysts had on average forecast a profit of around GBP1.3bn.
The stock kept building on Thursday’s gains at the end of the trading week, rising 1% to 50.14p on Friday afternoon.
