Lloyds Banking Group plc (LSE: LLOY) spent Friday trading just below a fresh 52‑week high, as investors digested this week’s UK Budget, new data from the bank’s own Business Barometer survey, and lingering regulatory risks from the motor finance scandal.
Real‑time quotes from Investing.com showed Lloyds shares around 96.5p, down roughly 0.1% on the day, with an intraday range of about 96.3p–96.8p and a 52‑week range of 52.44p–96.76p. [1] According to Hargreaves Lansdown, Thursday’s close at 96.60p marked a new 12‑month high, with the share price up about 82% over one year and more than 23% over six months. [2]
At these levels, Lloyds is valued at roughly £56.8bn, trades on a price/earnings ratio near 20, and offers a dividend yield of about 3.3%, based on the latest trailing data. [3] (Market data is delayed and may change.)
Lloyds share price today: consolidation after a powerful 2025 rally
Friday’s muted move comes after a strong run‑up in November. Monthly price data from digrin shows Lloyds ending the month around 96.6p, compared with about 54.8p at the end of 2024 and 62.3p in January 2025. [4] That implies:
- Roughly 75% appreciation since late 2024
- A gain of a little over 50% year‑to‑date
Performance figures on Hargreaves Lansdown tell a similar story: around 10% over the past week, nearly 10% over one month, and more than 80% over 12 months. [5] No surprise, then, that some commentators have described Lloyds’ performance as “red‑hot”, noting that the stock has outperformed several large US tech names over the last year. [6]
In short, the share price action on 28 November 2025 looks less like a sell‑off and more like a pause near decade‑high territory.
New data point today: Lloyds Business Barometer shows confidence easing
The main fresh news from the group itself on 28 November 2025 is macro rather than stock‑specific. Lloyds Bank published its latest Business Barometer, reporting that UK business confidence fell eight points to 42% in November, down from 50% in October but still above the long‑term average of 30%. [7]
Key details from the survey:
- Trading prospects: Confidence in firms’ own trading prospects slipped nine points to 53%.
- Economic optimism: Sentiment on the broader economy dropped eight points to 31%.
- Hiring intentions:56% of businesses still expect to increase headcount over the next year, versus 60% in October; those expecting reductions rose to 17%, leaving a positive net balance.
- Pricing pressures: The net balance of firms planning to raise prices fell to 60%, with the survey highlighting the lowest price‑pressure readings since January 2025. [8]
Lloyds economists frame the data as a softening, not a collapse: confidence has cooled from October’s strong levels but remains comfortably above its historical average, with sectors such as retail still more optimistic than a year ago. [9]
For shareholders, this matters because Lloyds is heavily geared to the domestic UK economy. A still‑healthy, if slightly less exuberant, corporate backdrop helps support loan growth and credit quality, even as higher interest rates and political uncertainty continue to bite.
Budget relief still underpins UK bank stocks
This week’s Autumn Budget remains a big part of the story behind Lloyds’ elevated share price.
In the run‑up to the announcement, investors worried that Chancellor Rachel Reeves might impose fresh levies on UK banks to plug fiscal gaps. Reuters reports that the sector rallied on 26 November after the Budget spared banks from new targeted tax hikes, easing those fears and lifting financial stocks across the FTSE 100. [10]
City A.M. noted that Lloyds and NatWest were among the notable gainers after the Budget, with Lloyds jumping by nearly 4% at one point as traders reacted to the tax reprieve and broader risk‑on sentiment. [11]
The combination of:
- better‑than‑feared fiscal news,
- still‑elevated interest rates that support net interest margins, and
- strong equity inflows into UK assets
has helped push Lloyds close to that psychologically important £1 level that analysts and retail investors have been watching all autumn. TechStock²+1
Capital returns: buybacks and dividends remain a key pillar
Beyond macro news, Lloyds’ capital‑return policy continues to be a major driver of investor interest.
Regulatory filings on the London Stock Exchange show that on 20 November 2025 the group bought back roughly 10.8 million of its own shares at a volume‑weighted average price just over 88p, as part of its ongoing share buyback programme. [12] A separate announcement earlier in November indicated that the bank had repurchased nearly 9.9 million shares at around 89p apiece, reinforcing its commitment to return excess capital to shareholders. [13]
On the income side, Hargreaves Lansdown data shows a trailing dividend yield of about 3.3%, with the final dividend for 2024 at 2.11p per share and an interim dividend of 1.06p paid in 2024. [14] Separate RNS notices for group entities also confirm interim dividends scheduled for 31 December 2025, with 28 November 2025 set as the record date for eligibility. [15]
This combination of ordinary dividends and ongoing buybacks helps explain why some investors see Lloyds less as a high‑growth play and more as a yield‑plus‑re‑rating story at this stage of the cycle.
Strategy and digital push: AI and cloud in the background
Although not specific to today’s session, recent news flow highlights Lloyds’ ongoing digital and technology push, which continues to inform the medium‑term equity story.
- A survey commissioned by Lloyds and reported by DIGIT found that around 28 million UK adults have used AI tools for personal finance in the past year, with 37% using them for investment research, 26% for debt management strategies and 39% for future financial planning. [16]
- The same study suggests that nearly 87% of UK adults now feel confident managing money online, while Lloyds’ own app user base has grown to more than 21 million customers. [17]
- In September, Lloyds announced an expanded strategic partnership with Broadcom to accelerate its cloud transformation, underlining the bank’s ambition to operate as a leaner, more software‑driven institution. [18]
These developments do not move the share price tick‑by‑tick, but they support the narrative that the group is gradually shifting from a pure‑play high‑street lender toward a more diversified, digitally‑enabled financial platform.
Risks still in play: motor finance scandal and workforce overhaul
The upbeat share price masks some significant unresolved risks, several of which have been in focus through late 2025:
Motor finance scandal and provisions
In October, Reuters reported that Lloyds’ third‑quarter profit fell about 36% year‑on‑year, after the bank booked an additional £800m charge linked to a UK motor‑finance mis‑selling probe and cut its guidance for full‑year returns. [19] Regulators are still consulting on the final structure of redress across the industry, and Lloyds has warned it may need to set aside more cash depending on the outcome. [20]
Investors therefore face a binary overhang: a favourable ruling could cap total provisions near current levels, while a more generous scheme for consumers could force materially higher charges in 2026.
Workforce restructuring and “high‑performance culture”
Separately, Lloyds has been reshaping its workforce. In early September, multiple outlets including Reuters, The Guardian and The Telegraph reported that the bank planned to put around 3,000 roles — roughly the bottom 5% of its staff — at risk as part of an effort to embed a “high‑performance culture”. [21]
While the financial impact of such restructuring can be modest in the near term, these moves carry reputational and operational risks, especially at a time when banks are under scrutiny over customer service, digital transformation and job security.
How analysts and market commentators see Lloyds after the rally
After such a strong 2025 run, much of the debate now is about valuation and how much good news is already priced in.
A MarketBeat review of US‑listed ADR Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE: LYG) this week highlighted that one analyst rates the stock a “Strong Buy”, five rate it “Buy” and four rate it “Hold”, giving an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus. [22]
An in‑depth share‑price forecast article published today by TS2.tech summarises broader broker data as follows:
- Long‑term price targets cluster around the mid‑90s pence, only slightly above current levels.
- Consensus still leans positive, but upside is seen as modest compared with the gains already achieved in 2025.
- Lloyds is estimated to trade at about 1.1–1.2x book value and roughly 11x near‑term earnings, a big re‑rating from the deep‑value levels of previous years but still below pre‑financial‑crisis peaks. TechStock²
TS2’s analysis sketches three high‑level scenarios into the end of 2025:
- A base case of consolidation around current levels
- A bull case in which favourable regulatory and macro news pushes the shares above recent highs towards 100–110p
- A bear case in which heavier‑than‑expected remediation costs and a weaker UK economy drag the price back towards the low‑ to mid‑70s TechStock²
These are, of course, scenarios rather than forecasts, but they underline how much now hinges on regulatory clarity and the Bank of England’s next moves.
Key catalysts to watch after 28 November 2025
Looking beyond today’s relatively quiet trading session, several events and trends are likely to matter more than short‑term price noise:
- FCA motor‑finance consultation outcome – The extended consultation period runs into December, and any signals on the ultimate scale or timing of redress could move the stock sharply. [23]
- Bank of England decisions on interest rates – Further cuts would ease pressure on borrowers but could compress net interest margins; markets are watching the December meeting closely. [24]
- Updates on dividends and buybacks – Management commentary on the final 2025 dividend and any prospective 2026 buyback will feed directly into yield‑focused valuation models. [25]
- UK macro and political news – Growth data, Labour’s fiscal stance, and public sentiment toward banks will shape risk premia across the domestic financial sector. [26]
Bottom line
On 28 November 2025, Lloyds Banking Group’s share price is holding close to multi‑year highs, with today’s slight dip looking more like consolidation than reversal. The bank benefits from a strong domestic rally, supportive (for now) fiscal policy towards banks, and a clear commitment to capital returns through dividends and buybacks.
At the same time, the motor‑finance scandal, ongoing workforce restructuring, and a softening yet still‑resilient business confidence backdrop mean the investment case is not risk‑free. With valuations no longer at distressed levels, future returns are likely to depend heavily on regulatory outcomes and the path of UK interest rates rather than another simple value re‑rating.
References
1. www.investing.com, 2. www.hl.co.uk, 3. www.hl.co.uk, 4. www.digrin.com, 5. www.hl.co.uk, 6. www.fool.co.uk, 7. www.lloydsbankinggroup.com, 8. www.lloydsbankinggroup.com, 9. www.lloydsbankinggroup.com, 10. www.reuters.com, 11. www.cityam.com, 12. www.londonstockexchange.com, 13. www.tipranks.com, 14. www.hl.co.uk, 15. www.investments.lloydsbank.com, 16. www.digit.fyi, 17. www.digit.fyi, 18. www.stocktitan.net, 19. www.reuters.com, 20. www.reuters.com, 21. www.reuters.com, 22. www.marketbeat.com, 23. www.reuters.com, 24. www.bankofengland.co.uk, 25. www.lloydsbankinggroup.com, 26. www.reuters.com
