Broker snap: Goldman a buyer of Lloyds

14th Jul 2011 09:13

The analysts at Goldman Sachs have upgraded their recommendation for part-nationalised lender Lloyds from 'neutral' to 'buy' due to a more attractive risk-return trad-eoff following the recent decline in stock price.Goldman's analysts also point out three possible bullish catalysts for the medium-term: the stress test results (to be released Friday) should reveal the entity's limited exposure to European sovereign debt and its solid capital ratio; progress in UK branch sales; and greater transparency over the regulator's future decision of possibly not requiring more divestments.Lloyds was up 0.20% to 44.49 pence in early trading on Thursday, 14 July.J.M.