14,733 Shares in Barclays PLC $BCS Purchased by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC has invested approximately $230,000 in Barclays PLC by acquiring 14,733 shares in the first quarter.
• Barclays recently announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.1557 per share, with a notable yield of 210.0% and a payout ratio of 14.75%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Barclays, with Royal Bank of Canada and Morgan Stanley maintaining "outperform" and "overweight" ratings, while Citigroup downgraded it from "buy" to "neutral."

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 14,733 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Barclays in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Elequin Capital LP bought a new position in Barclays during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Wealthquest Corp bought a new position in Barclays during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Barclays in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Barclays in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Barclays Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of BCS stock traded up $0.26 on Thursday, hitting $21.03. The stock had a trading volume of 10,687,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,093,211. The business has a 50 day moving average of $19.85 and a 200 day moving average of $17.63. The stock has a market cap of $74.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.70, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Barclays PLC has a 12-month low of $11.48 and a 12-month high of $21.13.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.12. Barclays had a net margin of 22.11% and a return on equity of 8.49%. The company had revenue of $9.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.06 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Barclays Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.1557 per share. This represents a yield of 210.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Barclays's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BCS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup lowered shares of Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Barclays has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

About Barclays

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.