Lloyds targets look conservative, City analysts say

What Brokers Say Finance Written by: Oliver Haill 13:36 Fri 31 Jul 2026 --> Disclaimer No investment advice About this content Editorial Standards & Policies Share article About this content × About Oliver Haill Oliver has been writing about companies and markets since the early 2000s, cutting his teeth as a financial journalist at Growth Company Investor with a focusing on AIM companies and small caps, before a few years later becoming a section editor and then head of research. He joined Proactive after a couple of years freelancing, where he worked for the Financial Times Group, ITV, Press Association, Reuters sports desk, the London Olympic News Service, Rugby World Cup News Service, Gracenote... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the world’s key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. Lloyds Banking Group PLC ( LSE:LLOY ) View Price & Profile Lloyds targets look conservative, City analysts say Published: 13:36 31 Jul 2026 BST Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LSE:LLOY) won a broadly positive response from City analysts after its half-year results and strategy update , with brokers arguing that its new targets may prove conservative. Citi reiterated its 'buy' rating, saying the new plan looks built on "conservative assumptions" and so offered additional upside from Lloyds' proposed consumer 'ecosystem' spanning housing, cars, wealth and insurance. Citi's analyst Andrew Coombs said assumptions for structural hedge returns, balance-sheet growth and lending margins were more cautious than it initially realised. His calculations suggested annual net interest income could be around £950 million higher than implied by Lloyds' 2028 targets. Most of that would reach the bottom line, Coombs said, potentially lifting return on tangible equity to around 20% compared with Lloyds' target of more than 18%. RBC also reiterated its 'outperform' rating and raised its price target to 124p from 120p, citing "increased visibility over the bank's future earnings trajectory". It forecasts returns on tangible equity of 19.9% in 2028 and 21.8% in 2030 – both above management's targets. RBC also expects Lloyds to return £33.3 billion to shareholders between 2026 and 2030 through dividends and buybacks, equivalent to an average annual yield of 11.1%. Jefferies, which has a buy' rating and 125p price target, said the interim numbers contained "little surprises" other than a 30% rebasing of the dividend. The broker described the long-term RoTE target of around 20% as "helpful" but cautioned that "the journey there may be a little light of consensus driven by both revenue and costs". "Balance sheet growth will also hold back free capital generation (although that isn't necessarily a bad thing)." Lloyds shares were roughly flat at 115.4p on Friday afternoon, having jumped 3% the previous day. Continue reading