Barclays (LON:BARC) Hits New 52-Week High - What's Next?

Barclays PLC (LON:BARC - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as GBX 331.60 ($4.50) and last traded at GBX 330.50 ($4.49), with a volume of 181351531 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 329.25 ($4.47).

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BARC shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Barclays from GBX 320 ($4.35) to GBX 350 ($4.75) and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Shore Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Barclays from GBX 370 ($5.02) to GBX 410 ($5.57) and gave the company a "top pick" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a GBX 350 ($4.75) target price on shares of Barclays in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of GBX 340 ($4.62).

Barclays Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of £46.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 295.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 287.40.

Barclays (LON:BARC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported GBX 13 ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Barclays had a return on equity of 6.97% and a net margin of 19.54%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Barclays PLC will post 39.1062802 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider C.S. Venkatakrishnan sold 185,862 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 292 ($3.97), for a total transaction of £542,717.04 ($736,986.75). Insiders own 1.47% of the company's stock.

Barclays Company Profile

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.