Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) Stock Now Rated "Hold" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• Barclays has a consensus “Hold” rating: Of 10 analysts covering the stock, six recommend holding and four recommend buying. Recent rating changes include downgrades from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley.
• Barclays reported quarterly EPS of $0.66, slightly below the $0.67 analyst consensus, while revenue of $9.85 billion also missed estimates of $10.10 billion.
• Shares were reported up 5.7%; Barclays had a market capitalization of about $79.2 billion and traded between $19.83 and $28.68 over the past 52 weeks.

Shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the ten research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BCS. Bank of America lowered Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings cut Barclays from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Barclays from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd.

Barclays Trading Up 5.7%

Shares of NYSE BCS opened at $23.68 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $24.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.84. The stock has a market cap of $79.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.04. Barclays has a 52-week low of $19.83 and a 52-week high of $28.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.89, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 1.47.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.01). Barclays had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 22.74%. The business had revenue of $9.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.10 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Barclays will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Barclays

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Barclays during the first quarter worth approximately $1,405,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in Barclays in the second quarter worth approximately $2,338,000. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd bought a new stake in Barclays in the second quarter worth approximately $13,268,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Barclays by 2,009.8% in the first quarter. Barometer Capital Management Inc. now owns 86,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,830,000 after buying an additional 82,400 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Barclays in the second quarter valued at approximately $9,888,000. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Barclays Company Profile

Barclays PLC is a diversified financial services company headquartered in London, England. Through its banking and financial services businesses, the company serves individuals, businesses, institutions and governments in the United Kingdom, the United States and other international markets.

Its principal activities include consumer and business banking, current and savings accounts, mortgages, personal loans, credit cards and payment services. Barclays also provides private banking and wealth management services, including investment management, financial planning and lending for high-net-worth clients.

Through its corporate and investment banking operations, Barclays offers corporate lending, transaction banking, financial advice, securities underwriting, sales and trading, research and capital-markets services.

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