Barclays PLC (BCS) - What Are Investment Firms Saying About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Barclays has a consensus “Hold” rating, with six holds and four buys. Recent changes included Morgan Stanley and Bank of America downgrading the stock, while Berenberg initiated coverage with a buy rating.
• Institutional ownership has increased modestly: Several investors raised their Barclays positions or initiated new stakes, although hedge funds and institutions collectively own only 3.39% of the company.
• Quarterly results slightly exceeded expectations: Barclays reported earnings of $0.90 per share versus the $0.89 consensus estimate, alongside a 22.27% net margin and 8.80% return on equity. Shares opened at $22.96, below both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company.

BCS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut Barclays from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Barclays from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Bank of America cut shares of Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Berenberg Bank assumed coverage on shares of Barclays in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BCS. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Barclays by 2.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,691,765 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $183,918,000 after purchasing an additional 199,130 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Barclays during the first quarter worth about $81,762,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Barclays by 1.1% in the second quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,180,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,706,000 after purchasing an additional 12,899 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Barclays by 11.5% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 798,698 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,900,000 after purchasing an additional 82,433 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Barclays during the first quarter valued at approximately $15,771,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Barclays Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE BCS opened at $22.96 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $26.10 and its 200 day moving average is $25.21. Barclays has a 52 week low of $19.29 and a 52 week high of $28.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.76. The company has a market cap of $76.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.57, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.02.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.01. Barclays had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 8.80%. The business had revenue of $27.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.78 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Barclays will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Barclays Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a $0.3134 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a yield of 224.0%. Barclays's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Barclays Company Profile

Barclays PLC is a diversified British financial services company headquartered in London. Tracing its history to 1690, the company operates as a universal bank serving individual consumers, businesses, institutions and governments.

Its services include personal and business banking, residential mortgages, credit cards, consumer lending, payments, commercial lending, wealth management and private banking. Through its investment bank, Barclays also provides corporate finance and advisory services, equity and debt underwriting, securities research, sales and trading, and related capital-markets services.

Barclays primarily serves customers in the United Kingdom and the United States, while its corporate, investment banking and markets activities support clients across international financial centers.

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