Lloyds shares could climb to £1 each from dividend boost
LLOYDS shares could hit 100p, UBS analysts predicted yesterday, up from 75.7p yesterday and more than four times their level just a year ago.
The bank returned to profit in the first half of the year, and chief executive Antonio Horta Osorio last week said he wants the bank to begin paying large dividends. And he later said those could be as high as 70 per cent of group profits.
Lloyds shares have risen 13 per cent in the past week, and analysts believe they have further to go.
“Lloyds is returning to the business model of 1996-1999 which we have been anticipating for some time – with costs falling, revenues on an upward path, provisions sharply below expectations and with the capital intensity of the business declining, Lloyds is on the verge of delivering material returns to shareholders,” said UBS’ John Paul Crutchley. “We raise our target price to 100p.”