Barclays' (BARC) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies reaffirmed its “buy” rating on Barclays and maintained a GBX 600 price target, implying 44.13% upside from the current price.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable: six analysts rate Barclays a Buy and one rates it a Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average target price of GBX 576.67.
• Barclays reported quarterly EPS of GBX 12.30, with a 26.02% net margin and 10.79% return on equity; insiders also purchased 27,498 shares over the past 90 days.

Barclays (LON:BARC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by Jefferies Financial Group in a research note issued on Monday, London Stock Exchange reports. They currently have a GBX 600 target price on the financial services provider's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 44.13% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on BARC. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a GBX 550 price target on shares of Barclays in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Berenberg Bank reiterated a "buy" rating and set a GBX 620 price objective on shares of Barclays in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Barclays from GBX 610 to GBX 620 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Barclays from GBX 510 to GBX 500 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 570 target price on shares of Barclays in a report on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of GBX 576.67.

Barclays Price Performance

LON BARC opened at GBX 416.30 on Monday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is GBX 466.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 472.53. Barclays has a 12 month low of GBX 361.35 and a 12 month high of GBX 538.30. The company has a market capitalization of £55.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.62, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.91.

Barclays (LON:BARC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported GBX 12.30 EPS for the quarter. Barclays had a net margin of 26.02% and a return on equity of 10.79%. On average, analysts anticipate that Barclays will post 39.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Barclays

In other Barclays news, insider Mary Mack bought 2,160 shares of Barclays stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 497 per share, for a total transaction of £10,735.20. Also, insider Brian Shea bought 2,393 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 497 per share, with a total value of £11,893.21. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 27,498 shares of company stock worth $13,666,506. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

About Barclays

Barclays PLC provides various financial services in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The company operates through Barclays UK and Barclays International division segments. It offers financial services, such as retail banking, credit cards, wholesale banking, investment banking, wealth management, and investment management services. In addition, the company engages in securities dealing activities. The company was formerly known as Barclays Bank Limited and changed its name to Barclays PLC in January 1985.