Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Barclays PLC has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with four recommending a buy and one a hold.
• The company's recent earnings report exceeded estimates, showing $0.62 earnings per share against a consensus of $0.50, alongside a revenue of $9.58 billion.
• Barclays announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.1557 payable on September 16th, despite a recent cut to this dividend.

Shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BCS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barclays

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BCS. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Barclays by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 381,369 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,068,000 after buying an additional 146,406 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Barclays by 485.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,680,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $88,789,000 after acquiring an additional 5,538,912 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Barclays in the 4th quarter valued at $50,189,000. Ethic Inc. grew its stake in Barclays by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 163,997 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,180,000 after acquiring an additional 41,501 shares during the period. Finally, Ellevest Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Barclays during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $294,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Barclays Price Performance

NYSE BCS traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $20.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,676,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,596,484. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.70. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $19.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.39. Barclays has a 1 year low of $11.22 and a 1 year high of $20.58. The company has a market capitalization of $72.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.14.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $9.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.06 billion. Barclays had a net margin of 22.11% and a return on equity of 8.49%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Barclays will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a $0.1557 dividend. This represents a yield of 210.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Barclays's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.29%.

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.