Lloyds Banking Group sees rising analyst targets and dividend growth

Lloyds Banking Group is seeing increased optimism from financial analysts, with several major institutions raising their price targets. UBS recently increased its target to 133p, while Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Securities both set targets of 140p. This bullish sentiment is supported by Lloyds' recent financial moves, including a 30% increase in its interim dividend and the announcement of its first-ever half-year share buyback worth £1bn.

In a comparison of dividend performance between major UK banks, HSBC currently offers a slightly higher trailing yield at approximately 3.6%, compared to Lloyds at 3.3%. However, Lloyds shows stronger projected dividend growth, with expectations of increasing its payout by roughly 26% this year and 17% next year, outpacing the projected growth rates for HSBC.