Latest news for Lloyds Banking Group (OTC:LLOBF) Stock

Lloyds is a retail and commercial bank headquartered in the United Kingdom. The bank operates via three business segments: retail, commercial banking, and insurance and wealth. In retail, Lloyds offers primarily mortgages (66% of loan portfolio), credit cards, and current accounts to its customers. Its commercial banking operation provides lending, transaction banking, working capital management, and debt capital market services to large companies and financial institutions in the UK Insurance and wealth rounds out the product lineup with life and property insurance as well as pension solutions and high-net-worth asset-management services.

LLOYDS BNKNG PREF 9.25% by Lloyds Banking Group plc

Lloyds Banking Group PLC

News

Federal Reserve

Fed's Powell Says The Idea Is That All Us Financial Regulatory Agencies Will Move As A Group, To Put Proposal Out For Comment; Says No Calendar Date For When Comment Period Will Be, Hope To Bring It All To Conclusion In First Half Of Next Year

Fed's Powell Says Changes Proposed From Fed Vice Chair Barr Were Done With My Input, Support; When Asked About Basel 3 Changes, Says Are Happening With His Support

Fed's Powell Says Countries With Central Banks Independent From Direct Control By Politicians Have Better Inflation Outcomes; Says Asked About Fed Independence, Says He Strongly Believes It Will Continue

Robinhood Markets Inc (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/HOOD#NASDAQ">HOOD</a>) shares are trading higher by 2.61% to $23.23 Wednesday afternoon after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 50 basis points.
Why This Matters: Robinhood, as a commission-free trading platform, benefits directly from increased user engagement and transaction volumes. Higher trading activity can drive revenue from order flow (payments Robinhood receives for routing customer trades).
Robinhood offers margin trading, where users can borrow money to invest. A rate cut reduces the cost of borrowing, making margin accounts more attractive to users. Lower rates can also lead to an increased margin borrowing, boosting revenue from the interest Robinhood charges on these loans.
Read Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/economics/macro-economic-events/24/09/40926310/s-p-500-gold-strike-all-time-highs-after-fed-cuts-rates-for-first-time-in-4-years">S&amp;P 500, Gold Strike All-Time Highs After Fed Cuts Rates For First Time In 4 Years, Stocks Climb</a>
What Else: Growth stocks, like Robinhood, tend to perform well in a low-interest-rate environment because future cash flows are discounted at a lower rate. Investors might view Robinhood more favorably as lower rates improve the valuation of growth companies, leading to a rise in its stock price.
Robinhood also offers cash management products, like high-yield savings accounts. While these accounts might offer slightly lower yields in a lower-rate environment, Robinhood&#8217;s spread between what it earns on customer deposits and what it pays out could remain favorable, potentially increasing its profitability.
Read Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/equities/24/09/40925003/sec-approves-major-overhaul-of-us-equity-markets-largest-reform-in-two-decades">SEC Approves Major Overhaul Of US Equity Markets, Largest Reform In Two Decades</a>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How To Buy HOOD Stock</h2>
Besides going to a brokerage platform to purchase a share &#8211; or fractional share &#8211; of stock, you can also gain access to shares either by buying an exchange traded fund (ETF) that holds the stock itself, or by allocating yourself to a strategy in your 401(k) that would seek to acquire shares in a mutual fund or other instrument. 
For example, in Robinhood Markets&#8217; case, it is in the Financials sector. An ETF will likely hold shares in many liquid and large companies that help track that sector, allowing an investor to gain exposure to the trends within that segment.

HOOD

Robinhood Markets Stock Surges Wednesday: Here's Why

Fed's Powell Says I Can't Say We Have A 'bright Line' In Mind For Labor Market Conditions

Fed's Powell Says We Understand That People Are Experiencing High Prices, And That It's Painful; Says We Will Mentally Tend To Adjust Payroll Numbers Based On QCEW

Fed's Powell Says People Don't Experience Interest-rate Increases As Pleasant, But At The End, You Get Inflation Down

Fed's Powell Says Hard To Say How Much More Mortgage Rates Will Fall; That Will Depend On Economy; Says We Had A Burst Of Inflation, As Did Other Countries; Part Of The Answer Was To Raise Interest Rates

Fed's Powell Says We Might Well Have Cut In July If We Had The Jobs Data At That Point; Says Everyone On The Committee Agreed It Was Time To Move; Says Decision Today Had Broad Support At FOMC

Jefferies analyst Jonathan Petersen maintains CubeSmart (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CUBE#NYSE">CUBE</a>) with a Buy and raises the price target from $53 to $62.

Price Target

Analyst Ratings

CUBE

Jefferies Maintains Buy on CubeSmart, Raises Price Target to $62

Powell Says Supply Question Is For The Market And For Government To Solve; Says Our Move Today Is Timely

Fed's Powell Says Issue With Housing Is Lack Of Supply; Says Fed Can Not Fix Issues With Housing Supply Constraints; Says As We Normalize Rates, We Do Think Housing Market Will Normalize

Xylem Inc. (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/xyl#NYSE">XYL</a>) is well-poised for growth in the coming quarters, courtesy of its businesses and accretive acquisitions. The company&#39;s efforts to reward its shareholders add to its appeal.
Headquartered in Rye Brook, NY, Xylem is one of the leading providers of water solutions worldwide. It is involved in the full water-process cycle, including the collection, distribution and return of water to the environment. XYL has a significant presence in the United States, the Asia Pacific, Europe and various other nations. Over the past year, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company has gained 40.4% compared with the industry&#39;s 26.8% growth.
<img alt="Zacks Investment Research" src="https://staticx-tuner.zacks.com/images/articles/charts/23/78263.jpg?v=976502451" />
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Let&#39;s discuss the factors that might influence investors to retain this stock in their portfolio for the time being.
Business Strength: Xylem is seeing growth across most of its businesses. The Measurement &amp; Control Solutions (&quot;M&amp;CS&quot;) segment is benefiting from robust demand for advanced technology solutions like smart metering and other applications, primarily in the United States. The segment&#39;s organic sales were up 26% year over year, driven by smart metering demand and execution.
Growth in the transport application business, driven by a strong pipeline of capital projects in Western Europe and increased infrastructure projects in the United States, is boosting the Water Infrastructure segment&#39;s performance. Strong momentum in the treatment applications business, supported by increasing capital projects in emerging markets, also bodes well. The segment&#39;s organic sales increased 7% year over year in the second quarter, buoyed by price realization and growth across all regions and applications.
Strength in dewatering business across major markets (particularly in the United States and emerging regions), driven by increased sales volume and favorable pricing, is a key catalyst to the Water Solutions and Services segment&#39;s growth. The segment&#39;s organic sales grew 12% year over year in the second quarter, supported by higher capital project revenues and gains in integrated solutions and services in the United States.
Expansion Efforts: The company solidifies its product portfolio and leverages business opportunities through asset additions. Acquisitions contributed $265 million to Xylem&#39;s total revenues in the second quarter. The company acquired mission-critical water treatment solutions and services provider Evoqua in May 2023.
Evoqua&#39;s advanced water and wastewater treatment capabilities and position in key industrial markets complement Xylem&#39;s portfolio of solutions across the water cycle. The acquisition boosted its position in water technologies, solutions and services. The transaction is expected to deliver run-rate cost synergies of $140 million within three years upon closing. It is also expected to strengthen the company&#39;s balance sheet.
Rewards to Shareholders: Xylem&#39;s commitment to rewarding shareholders through dividends and share buybacks is encouraging. In the first six months of 2024, it paid dividends of $175 million, up 25.9% year over year. The company also bought back shares worth $18 million in the same period. In February 2024, it hiked its dividend by 9%. Also, in 2023, Xylem paid out dividends worth $299 million and bought back shares worth $25 million.
<h2>Downsides of Xylem</h2>
Segmental Weakness: Xylem has been experiencing weakness in the Applied Water segment owing to the slowdown in the broader economy. In July 2024, the Institute for Supply Management&#39;s manufacturing index registered 48.5%, indicating a contraction in U.S. manufacturing activity for the third consecutive month. The impact of this slowdown is reflected in the decrease in demand for industrial and building solutions applications, including pumps, valves, heat exchangers, controls and dispensing equipment.
Amid these challenges, the segment&#39;s second-quarter revenues declined 5% on a year-over-year basis in the second quarter. A reduced number of project wins is likely to impact its performance in the near term.
Rising Costs: Xylem has been grappling with the adverse impacts of cost inflation. In the second quarter, its cost of revenues increased 26.1% year over year due to high raw material, labor, freight and overhead costs. Selling, general and administrative expenses rose 8.7% due to additional operational expenditure from the acquisition of Evoqua. Escalating costs pose a threat to the bottom line.
<h2>Stocks to Consider</h2>
Some better-ranked companies from the same space are discussed below.
Flowserve Corporation&nbsp;currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
FLS delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 18.2%. In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Flowserve&#39;s 2024 earnings has increased 3.8%.
Crane Company&nbsp;presently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 11.2%.
In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CR&#39;s 2024 earnings has increased 2%.
Parker-Hannifin Corporation&nbsp;currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. PH delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 2.6%.
In the past 60 days, the consensus estimate for Parker-Hannifin&#39;s fiscal 2025 earnings has increased 1.3%.
<a href="https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2337929/here-s-why-you-should-retain-xylem-stock-in-your-portfolio-for-now?cid=CS-BENZ-FT-analyst_blog|rank_focused-2337929">To read this article on Zacks.com click here.</a>

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Trading Ideas

Here's Why You Should Retain Xylem Stock in Your Portfolio for Now

Fed's Powell Say Housing Market Is In Part Frozen In Part Due To Higher Rates; Says As Rates Come Home, People Will Start To Move More, And That's Already Happening; Says As Rates Come Down, People Will Sell More

Economics

Fed's Powell Says Outcome Is Not As In Doubt Now Though; Says We Will Get Down To 2% Inflation; Says We Will Get Down To 2% Inflation; Says Ultimately We Will Get What We Need To Get Out Of The Housing Services Inflation Too

Fed's Powell Says We Know Understand It Will Take Some Time For Lower Market Rents To Filter Through; Says Direction Of Travel On Rents Is Clear; Says Direction Of Travel Is Clear Though, Even Though It May Take Several Years

Fed's Powell Says Housing Inflation Is One Piece That Is Dragging A Bit; Says Market Rents Are Doing What We Want Them To Do, But They Are Not Coming Down As Much As Expected

Roku Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ROKU#NASDAQ">ROKU</a>) is gearing up for a platform monetization sprint, and investors are starting to tune in. After a strong showing at the JPMorgan U.S. All Stars Conference in London, Roku's management has made one thing crystal clear: it's all about accelerating <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/ROKU/news">platform revenue growth</a>.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Shopify Integration Boosts Roku Ads Manager</h2>
Roku has <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240918031574/en/Roku-Launches-Ads-Manager-a-Self-Service-Performance-Solution-for-Growth-Marketers">launched</a> Roku Ads Manager, a self-service CTV performance solution featuring the first-ever Shopify Inc (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/SHOP#NYSE">SHOP</a>) integration for shoppable campaigns. This new platform is designed to help direct-to-consumer brands of all sizes easily purchase CTV video ads, offering a familiar buying experience similar to search and social. 
Louqman Parampath, Roku's VP of Product Management, emphasized the platform's advantage: "Roku Ads Manager is uniquely positioned to offer data, optimization, and ad formats that no other CTV self-serve solution has." The integration with Shopify enhances reach for merchants, creating a new sales channel with shoppable ads.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Roku Management Doubling Down On Partnerships</h2>
With management doubling down on third-party partnerships and home screen changes, the streaming giant is eyeing a revenue boost that could turn heads as early as the fourth quarter of 2025. Partnerships with The Trade Desk Inc (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/TTD#NASDAQ">TTD</a>) are also nearing completion, positioning Roku for potential ad revenue growth.
Read Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/24/08/40293747/analysts-see-strong-growth-potential-for-the-trade-desk-amid-ctv-expansion-and-stab">Analysts See Strong Growth Potential For The Trade Desk Amid CTV Expansion And Stable Digital Ad Market</a>
While Roku's CFO Dan Jedda and IR head Conrad Grodd laid out the company's priorities, the spotlight was on how Roku plans to balance revenue expansion with profitability. With platform growth initiatives set to be funded by reallocating existing operational expenses (nearly $2 billion in 2024), Roku is aiming to keep its spending lean.
This belt-tightening has led JPMorgan's Cory Carpenter to raise his price target on Roku from $80 to $90, citing increased confidence in the company's ability to grow earnings without breaking the bank.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Needham&#8217;s $100 Price Target Adds More Fuel To The Fire</h2>
Adding to the optimism, Needham has upgraded Roku&#8217;s price target to $100, reiterating their Buy rating. Analyst Laura Martin emphasized Roku&#8217;s strong strategic position in the U.S. over-the-top (OTT) and connected-TV (CTV) ecosystems.
With Roku devices now in 50% of U.S. broadband homes, the company is the largest streaming distribution platform, making it highly attractive to advertisers.
According to Needham, Roku benefits from a total addressable market (TAM) of around $62 billion in traditional linear TV advertising revenue for 2023. Roku's impressive cost control and tactical moves to become an &#8220;arms dealer&#8221; of streaming—similar to how Apple's iOS platform operates—reinforce Needham's bullish outlook. 
This potential, combined with its large CTV ad inventory and projected industry growth of 15-17% in 2024, paints a picture of significant valuation upside.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Technicals Point To A Strong Bullish Run—For Now</h2>
On the technical front, Roku is flashing bullish signals, with its stock price of $74.67 above key moving averages.
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://bzresearch.myclickfunnels.com/benzinga-pro-content-webinar-registration/?utm_source=BZprocontent091824&amp;t=be2bearmibe3na1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="623" height="454" src="https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/18142411/Screenshot-2024-09-18-at-4.00.08-PM.png" alt="" class="wp-image-554749" srcset="https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/18142411/Screenshot-2024-09-18-at-4.00.08-PM.png 623w,https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/18142411/Screenshot-2024-09-18-at-4.00.08-PM-300x219.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 623px) 100vw, 623px" /></a></figure>
<a href="https://bzresearch.myclickfunnels.com/benzinga-pro-content-webinar-registration/?utm_source=BZprocontent091824&amp;t=be2bearmibe3na1">Chart created using Benzinga Pro</a>
However, some selling pressure indicates a possible risk of bearish movement in the near future, so cautious optimism might be the best approach.
Read Next: 
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/equities/24/09/40920634/roku-introduces-innovative-ads-manager-for-direct-to-consumer-brands-details">Roku Introduces Innovative Ads Manager For Direct-to-Consumer Brands: Details</a></li>
</ul>
Photo: Shutterstock

Analyst Color

Technicals

Tech

ROKU

SHOP

Roku: The 'Arms Dealer' Of Streaming Gears Up For Monetization Surge, Says Analyst

Jefferies analyst Jonathan Petersen maintains National Storage (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/NSA#NYSE">NSA</a>) with a Buy and raises the price target from $47 to $54.

Jefferies Maintains Buy on National Storage, Raises Price Target to $54

Fed Chair Powell Says We Are Going To Move Rates To A More Normal Level Over Time; We Are Not Declaring Victory On Inflation; We Are Close, But Not At 2% Inflation; We Are Not Saying Mission Accomplished Yet On Inflation, But Encouraged By Our Progress

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