
Picture supply: Getty Photographs
I personal Lloyds (LSE: LLOY) shares and I’m delighted I do. The FTSE 100 banking inventory is up 43% during the last 12 months and virtually 220% over 5 years. Dividends are on high of that, they usually’ve grown steadily. After reinvesting mine, I’ve virtually doubled my cash since I began constructing my stake in early 2023.
However what if I didn’t personal the inventory? Would I nonetheless contemplate shopping for Lloyds Banking Group at this time?
Valuation shift
The plain threat is that after a powerful run, momentum might cool. Once I purchased in, the inventory was low cost, buying and selling on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of about six. Its price-to-book (P/B) ratio was additionally low, at 0.4.
At present it’s pricier, with a P/E of 13.1 and a P/B of 1.02. That’s not extortionate, however it’s now not a screaming discount both. On the plus facet, it suggests traders have extra confidence now than after I first purchased.
The dividend tells an analogous story. My entry-point yield was 5.1%. At present, it’s 3.8% on a trailing foundation. Lloyds prices extra and pays much less revenue than after I purchased. That’s the attraction of contrarian investing: purchase when others are fearful, not when a inventory is in full flight. However greater potential rewards additionally carry greater threat. This inventory choose labored effectively. They don’t all the time.
Rising pre-tax income
Nonetheless, Lloyds appears to be like in fine condition. On 24 July, it posted a 5% rise in pre-tax income to £3.5bn and hiked the interim dividend 15% to 1.22p per share. CEO Charlie Nunn is chopping prices, diversifying revenue and in a controversial transfer, planning to root out underperforming workers.
But the broader image’s trickier. UK development flatlined in July, the housing market’s struggling as inflation and rates of interest keep excessive, and the upcoming Finances looms massive. Assume tank IPPR lately referred to as for a windfall tax on banks. Traders gained’t know if that may occur till 26 November.
I nonetheless suppose Lloyds appears to be like engaging for long-term traders. Delaying till after the Finances could be tempting, however timing the market like that hardly ever works.
Operating the numbers
So what if an investor put £10,000 in Lloyds at this time? At 83.74p per share, they’d get round 11,941 shares, earlier than expenses. Analysts forecast complete dividends of three.5p per share for 2025, rising to 4.07p in 2026. If appropriate, these 11,941 shares would ship simply over £486 subsequent yr, a ahead yield of 4.86%.
Any share worth development would come on high. Consensus forecasts recommend a 12-month goal of 91.8p, up 9.57% from now. That might carry the entire return together with dividends to 14.43%, turning that authentic £10,000 into £11,443 after one yr.
Naturally, nothing’s assured. The dividned could possibly be minimize, though that appears unlikely at this time. Lloyds shares may simply as simply fall as an alternative of rise. That might occur to any inventory, at any time.
However investing isn’t a few single yr. It’s in regards to the lengthy haul. And with these sums in thoughts, I nonetheless suppose Lloyds is price contemplating for traders prepared to tuck their cash away for not less than 5 years, and ideally longer.

Picture supply: Getty Photographs
I personal Lloyds (LSE: LLOY) shares and I’m delighted I do. The FTSE 100 banking inventory is up 43% during the last 12 months and virtually 220% over 5 years. Dividends are on high of that, they usually’ve grown steadily. After reinvesting mine, I’ve virtually doubled my cash since I began constructing my stake in early 2023.
However what if I didn’t personal the inventory? Would I nonetheless contemplate shopping for Lloyds Banking Group at this time?
Valuation shift
The plain threat is that after a powerful run, momentum might cool. Once I purchased in, the inventory was low cost, buying and selling on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of about six. Its price-to-book (P/B) ratio was additionally low, at 0.4.
At present it’s pricier, with a P/E of 13.1 and a P/B of 1.02. That’s not extortionate, however it’s now not a screaming discount both. On the plus facet, it suggests traders have extra confidence now than after I first purchased.
The dividend tells an analogous story. My entry-point yield was 5.1%. At present, it’s 3.8% on a trailing foundation. Lloyds prices extra and pays much less revenue than after I purchased. That’s the attraction of contrarian investing: purchase when others are fearful, not when a inventory is in full flight. However greater potential rewards additionally carry greater threat. This inventory choose labored effectively. They don’t all the time.
Rising pre-tax income
Nonetheless, Lloyds appears to be like in fine condition. On 24 July, it posted a 5% rise in pre-tax income to £3.5bn and hiked the interim dividend 15% to 1.22p per share. CEO Charlie Nunn is chopping prices, diversifying revenue and in a controversial transfer, planning to root out underperforming workers.
But the broader image’s trickier. UK development flatlined in July, the housing market’s struggling as inflation and rates of interest keep excessive, and the upcoming Finances looms massive. Assume tank IPPR lately referred to as for a windfall tax on banks. Traders gained’t know if that may occur till 26 November.
I nonetheless suppose Lloyds appears to be like engaging for long-term traders. Delaying till after the Finances could be tempting, however timing the market like that hardly ever works.
Operating the numbers
So what if an investor put £10,000 in Lloyds at this time? At 83.74p per share, they’d get round 11,941 shares, earlier than expenses. Analysts forecast complete dividends of three.5p per share for 2025, rising to 4.07p in 2026. If appropriate, these 11,941 shares would ship simply over £486 subsequent yr, a ahead yield of 4.86%.
Any share worth development would come on high. Consensus forecasts recommend a 12-month goal of 91.8p, up 9.57% from now. That might carry the entire return together with dividends to 14.43%, turning that authentic £10,000 into £11,443 after one yr.
Naturally, nothing’s assured. The dividned could possibly be minimize, though that appears unlikely at this time. Lloyds shares may simply as simply fall as an alternative of rise. That might occur to any inventory, at any time.
However investing isn’t a few single yr. It’s in regards to the lengthy haul. And with these sums in thoughts, I nonetheless suppose Lloyds is price contemplating for traders prepared to tuck their cash away for not less than 5 years, and ideally longer.


















