Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) Given Average Rating of "Buy" by Analysts

Barclays PLC (LON:BARC - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Buy" from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is GBX 329.17 ($4.39).

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BARC. Shore Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Barclays from GBX 320 ($4.26) to GBX 350 ($4.66) and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Barclays from GBX 370 ($4.93) to GBX 410 ($5.46) and gave the company a "top pick" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 350 ($4.66) price objective on shares of Barclays in a report on Monday, February 24th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Robert Berry bought 3,028 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 294 ($3.92) per share, with a total value of £8,902.32 ($11,861.85). Also, insider C.S. Venkatakrishnan sold 185,862 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 292 ($3.89), for a total transaction of £542,717.04 ($723,140.63). Insiders own 1.47% of the company's stock.

Barclays Price Performance

LON BARC traded down GBX 2 ($0.03) during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching GBX 294.80 ($3.93). The stock had a trading volume of 23,601,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,465,793. The stock has a market cap of £42.33 billion, a PE ratio of 8.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.36. Barclays has a 1 year low of GBX 196.44 ($2.62) and a 1 year high of GBX 316 ($4.21). The company has a fifty day moving average price of GBX 286.88 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 275.05.

Barclays (LON:BARC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported GBX 13 ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Barclays had a return on equity of 6.97% and a net margin of 19.54%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Barclays will post 39.1062802 earnings per share for the current year.

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.